Global Courant 2023-05-01 14:45:16
Outgoing Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot sent a letter to Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Sunday asking her to stop sending busloads of migrants to the Windy City for allegedly political motives.
Abbott began sending migrant buses to Chicago and other sanctuary cities, including New York City and Washington, D.C., in the fall in response to the influx of migrants crossing the southern border. The Republican governor has said the relocations will continue until the federal government secures the border.
Lightfoot, who lost her re-election bid earlier this year, wrote in her letter that Chicago officials learned Texas planned to send additional migrants to sanctuary cities starting Monday, urging Abbott to reconsider “this dangerous and inhumane action” .
She said the city is responsible for caring for more than 8,000 people who lacked resources since the first buses arrived from Texas in August — adding that the number continues to grow.
MAYOR LORI LIGHTFOOT LIVES OUT TO TEXAS GOV. ABBOTT AFTER 50 MORE MIGRANTS ARE BUSING TO CHICAGO
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot sent a letter to Texas Governor Greg Abbott requesting that the busloads of migrants into the Windy City be stopped. (Getty Images)
“Nearly all migrants were in urgent need of food, water and clothing and many required extensive medical care,” she wrote. “Some of the individuals you placed on buses were women who were actively working, and some were victims of sexual assault. None of these pressing needs were addressed in Texas. Instead, these individuals and families were packed onto buses and transported across the country as cargo. regardless of their personal circumstances.”
The Democratic mayor said Chicago lacks the necessary shelters and other resources to deal with further migrations of migrants into the city.
“Chicago is a welcoming city and we are working with county, state and community partners to address this challenge, but your lack of focus or coordination in an effort to wreak havoc and score political points has resulted in a critical tipping point. in our ability to receive individuals and families in a safe, orderly, and dignified manner,” Lightfoot wrote.
“I know through your actions that you don’t see or care about the trauma these migrants have already suffered and continue to suffer from the humanitarian crisis you created,” she continued. “But I beseech you anyway: treat these individuals with the respect and dignity they deserve. Telling them to go to Chicago or inhumanely bringing them here is an insurmountable and misleading choice.”
CHICAGO MAYOR LORI LIGHTFOOT SLAMS TEXAS GOV. ABBOTT AS A ‘MAN WITH NO MORAL’ AFTER SENDING MIGRANT BUSES
Lori Lightfoot said Chicago officials learned Texas planned to send additional migrants to sanctuary cities starting Monday. (Kamil Krzaczynski)
Lightfoot said she is sympathetic to the challenges posed by border towns in Texas, but shifting responsibility to other towns will not solve the problem.
She stressed that she will continue to appeal to the federal government for more resources and support to deal with the migrant influx, while also demanding policy changes to the US immigration system.
Lightfoot also told the governor she was urging the federal government to withhold all FEMA funding for Texas if buses of migrants continue to be sent to Chicago, but noted that she would “rather work with you than against you.” “.
“Governor Abbott, this is not a state versus state or city versus city problem,” she wrote. “The immigration crisis is a national challenge that requires national cooperation. For the good of our country and the individuals seeking safety in a place of refuge, let us work together to find a real solution. And that real solution will never be the unilateral transport of being migrants.” to cities like Chicago.”
Texas Governor Greg Abbott began sending migrant buses to Chicago and other sanctuary cities in August because of the influx of migrants crossing the southern border. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
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Lightfoot previously criticized Abbott after the first buses were delivered to Chicago, saying at a press conference in September that the governor “created a human crisis.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has also spoken out about migrant moves to cities.
“This is just unfair for local governments to take on this national obligation,” Adams said in a January radio interview.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis, D, has also been sending migrants from his state to sanctuary cities in recent months.
