Last summer when the surge of illegal aliens at the Texas border was overwhelming towns like El Paso, Gov. Greg Abbott began to bus illegal aliens and asylum seekers from Texas border towns to Chicago and New York. After all, Abbott reasoned, these two mayors were constantly bragging about how welcoming their “Sanctuary City” policies were, so the Texas governor thought it was time those Democrats began to put their money where their mouth is.
As expected, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and New York Mayor Eric Adams began to scream bloody murder. Lightfoot referred to Abbott’s policy of busing illegals to Chicago and New York as “inhumane.” She said Abbott was “a man without any morals, humanity or shame.”
The poor dear almost got the vapors she was so very upset.
But Abbott isn’t the only governor upset at Joe Biden’s immigration policies — or, more accurately, the lack thereof. Colorado’s Democrat Gov. Jared Polis has also been busing asylum seekers to New York City and Chicago to relieve the strain on his state services.
As you might expect, that went over like a lead balloon, and on Saturday, Lightfoot and Adams sent a very polite letter to Polis asking him sweetly to cease and desist.
“We respectfully demand that you cease and desist sending migrants to New York City and Chicago,” Adams and Lightfoot wrote in a letter to Polis. “Since December of 2022, Chicago and New York City have received hundreds of individuals from Colorado.”
Not exactly a whine, but at least they didn’t refer to Polis as “without morals.”
The two mayors wrote that they wanted to work with Polis in pressing the federal government for a national solution.
“You must stop busing migrants to Chicago and New York City,” the mayors wrote. “In the case of family reunification, let us work together to ensure that people are reconnected with their loved ones, however sending migrants to our cities whose systems are over capacity, where they may struggle to find shelter and other services is wrong and further victimizes these most vulnerable individuals.”
The letter comes days after Adams laced into the federal government and Polis over the number of asylum seekers arriving in the city.
Lightfoot also called Abbott’s busing strategy “racist” because, well, she said so; that’s why.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office called the practice of busing migrants “racist,” but affirmed the city’s commitment to welcoming the new arrivals.
Abbott’s busing strategy has so far cost the state of Texas more than $12 million before Chicago was announced as a destination.
So Abbott’s strategy of busing asylum seekers to Chicago is “racist,” but Polis’s policy of busing asylum seekers to Chicago isn’t racist? My head hurts.
“It is apparent that the influx of asylum seekers has provoked consternation amongst states. Although we share the concerns of accommodating the flood of asylum seekers, overburdening other cities is not the solution,” the mayors said in the letter.
No one wants to “overburden” cities. Governors like Abbott and Polis just want a little consideration. New York City and Chicago were getting only a trickle of asylum seekers until Abbott began to make them feel the burn of what it’s like to be in the path of a human tsunami. If those two big city mayors — and a popular Democratic governor like Polis — can’t get Biden to pay attention, no one can.
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