Chicago received another 50 migrants bused from Texas on Sunday, the second group to arrive in less than a week.
(Bloomberg) — Chicago received another 50 migrants bused from Texas on Sunday, the second group to arrive in less than a week.
The migrants were mostly families and the city is working to figure out where they come from, Mayor Lori Lightfoot told reporters late Sunday. She slammed Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who made cracking down on immigration a prominent part of his re-election campaign, for treating people like “freight.”
This is the second group to be dropped off in Chicago, after the first 75 migrants arrived at Union Station late Wednesday. Texas isn’t coordinating with the City of Chicago, where government officials are working with non-profits and other organizations to get any information on potential arrivals.
“We have yet to hear from anyone in an official capacity from Texas,” Lightfoot said. “It’s unacceptable, we are talking about human beings’ lives, who themselves have gone through an incredible journey just to get to the United States. I think the decent human thing to do is to cooperate and collaborate.”
Abbott has been sending busloads of migrants to New York and Washington, D.C., since April, blaming President Joe Biden’s administration for the surge in crossings and chaos along the border. Chicago has now joined the list of so-called “sanctuary cities” where Abbott has already sent thousands of migrants.
“He has no interest whatsoever in providing any kind of support to people who are coming to Texas, but then do the right thing and collaborate, cooperate, instead of us having to guess: are they coming, are they not coming, how many, what are their needs?” Lightfoot said. “That’s insanity that doesn’t have to happen.”
Chicago is asking county, state and federal governments as well as citizens for assistance. It also created a website to collect donations to help migrants arriving in the city. Lightfoot predicted more buses would continue to arrive, and urged anyone who can to provide food, clothing and shelter to help organizations support the migrants.
She called Abbott’s actions unpatriotic and “un-American.”
“We can and must do better as Americans, the rest of the world is watching us,” she said. “He is manufacturing a human crisis and it makes no sense to me.”
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