More migrants arrived in Chicago from Texas on Sunday and Democrat Mayor Lori Lightfoot once again slammed Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, saying he is using them as human pawns.
The migrants arrived in the Windy City after Abbott sent two buses carrying migrants to Chicago last week. Abbott said he will continue to bus migrants to sanctuary cities until the federal government secures the southern border.
Lightfoot said that while she welcomes new residents, she has a problem with Abbott bussing the migrants to her city.
“My frustration comes from the actions of the governor of Texas,” she said at a press conference. “There could be a level of coordination and cooperation, but he chooses to do none of those things. Instead, he chooses to send human beings across the country to an uncertain destination. That’s unacceptable.”
“He is manufacturing a human crisis and it makes no sense to me,” Lightfoot said.
After the first two buses of migrants arrived in Chicago on Wednesday, Lightfoot said the city would help them find shelter, work and schools.
The mayor reiterated those remarks in her address Sunday afternoon.
“We are a welcoming city. We are always going to step up and do the right thing to make sure that migrants coming into our city are well received, that they’re supported,” she said.
Lightfoot announced the launch of a donation page for the migrants in response to the arrivals. The page asks for necessities like clothes, shoes, diapers and blankets. It also asks that willing participants sign up to be a volunteer and to help with donations.
“We have people coming as families, young children with their first taste of democracy and freedom in many instances and we need to make sure that the memory that they have of Chicago and of the United States is favorable,” Lightfoot said. “Regardless of where their life journey takes them, I want them to feel like in this moment that they came to this city, and we wrapped our arms around them, loved them and supported them.”
Chicago Alderman Raymond Lopez appeared displeased with Lightfoot’s intense focus on the illegal immigrants being sent to Chicago.
In a tweet referencing the donation page, Lopez wrote, “And the victims of Chicago gang violence get… [crickets].” Lopez used cricket bug emojis to imply that they get nothing but silence from the mayor.
From the affluent downtown areas to the south side, residents of Chicago have been dealing with a spike in violent crime. Chicago has seen a bloody and deadly Labor Day weekend. So far, eight people have been killed and dozens injured in shootings.
Last year, 797 people were murdered in Chicago, which was 25 more than 2020 and the most since 1996, according to police data. However, homicides are down 16% this year to 444, as of Aug. 28.
Abbott has also sent migrants to Washington, D.C., and New York City.
“Mayor Lightfoot loves to tout the responsibility of her city to welcome all regardless of legal status, and I look forward to seeing this responsibility in action as these migrants receive resources from a sanctuary city with the capacity to serve them,” he said in a statement last week.
