Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) urged Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to stop busing immigrants to her city, which she says lacks the resources to absorb more people.
Lightfoot, a Democrat who recently lost her bid for a second term, made the request in a letter sent Sunday to the Republican border state governor. The outgoing mayor slammed Abbott’s policy of transporting immigrants to Democratic-leaning cities as “inhumane and dangerous” while urging him to reverse course.
MIGRANTS FORCED TO SEEK SHELTER AT CHICAGO POLICE PRECINCTS AS CITY STRUGGLES TO FIND HOUSING
The mayor accused Texas officials of neglecting the migrant’s needs, claiming that Chicago has shouldered the burden of caring for these individuals once they arrived in her city. As a result, Lightfoot said the city had essentially stripped itself of necessary resources and lacked the capacity to support any additional arrivals.
“Chicago is a Welcoming City and we collaborate with County, State, and community partners to rise to this challenge, but your lack of consideration or coordination in an attempt to cause chaos 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 way,” Lightfoot’s letter read.
“We simply have no more shelters, spaces, or resources to accommodate an increase of individuals at this level, with little coordination or care, that does not pose a risk to them or others,” she continued.
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Abbott has been busing immigrants released at the border to New York City, Washington D.C., and Chicago as part of a larger effort to raise awareness about the worsening migrant crisis and lessen the burden on the state’s overwhelmed border communities.
Lightfoot claims that Chicago has received more than 8,000 asylum-seekers since last August. Abbott, who has yet to respond to Lightfoot’s Sunday letter, has defended his busing strategy by arguing that the several thousand people sent to each city pales in comparison to what his communities have faced since President Joe Biden took office and shifted immigration policies from his predecessor, former President Donald Trump.
