Chicago received its first group of immigrants sent by the governor of Texas, following similar bus drop-offs in New York and Washington.
(Bloomberg) — Chicago received its first group of immigrants sent by the governor of Texas, following similar bus drop-offs in New York and Washington.
Some 75 migrants were brought to Union Station on Wednesday evening, given shelter, food and protection, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said at a press conference on Thursday. The migrants were primarily from Venezuela and included children.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican first elected to his post in 2015, has made cracking down on undocumented immigration a prominent part of his re-election campaign. In a statement late Wednesday, he said he’d already sent thousands of migrants to what he calls “sanctuary cities” since April.
“The governor’s actions are not just inhumane, they are unpatriotic,” Lightfoot told reporters in Chicago. “This cannot be who we are as Americans. We have to stand for a different and better set of principles.” She added, “This is a humanitarian crisis manufactured by a cheap politician who focus on his own political fortune.”
Abbott blames President Joe Biden’s administration for the surge in crossings and chaos along the border. His strategy to send busloads full of immigrants to cities such as New York, Washington, and now Chicago has been slammed by Democrats and human rights organizations.
Some of the Venezuelan immigrants that arrived in Chicago came voluntarily, while others would have preferred to head to other cities where they have family and friends, Lightfoot said. Abbott didn’t coordinate with Chicago, but the city welcomes the immigrants and will treat them with “dignity,” Lightfoot said.
“If we take his threats seriously — and that’s what I regard them as — I would expect we will see more” migrant arrivals, the mayor said. “That’s not something we budgeted for, but it’s something that what we must do. So we will figure it out — the finances — working collaboratively with the federal government, with the state and the county.”
US Representative Chuy Garcia, an Illinois Democrat, said the immigrants hadn’t eaten all day when they arrived, and that the group included some pregnant women. For now, the migrants are in limbo as Venezuelan refugees haven’t qualified for Temporary Protected Status since March 2021, he said, adding that he would ask Biden to extend that deadline.
“We are doing everything we can to ensure that the organizations who are supporting them receive the assistance they need,” US Representative Mike Quigley, an Illinois Democrat, said in a statement. “These are families who have fled poverty, persecution and violence. They have come to the United States in pursuit of a better life, just like millions of immigrants have done before.”
Read More: NYC Mayor Slams Texas Governor for Busing Migrants to City
(Updates with comments from Lightfoot.)
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