Blue state politicians are getting angrier and angrier at the White House and Joe Biden for their reluctance to come up with meaningful solutions to the border crisis that has seen Northern Democratic cities swamped with migrants.
New York state and city have seen more than 100,000 people travel from the border to end up in the care of the local and state governments. Smaller numbers have been seen in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Boston, and Denver.
But the most recent wave of migrants has appeared in Chicago. And like other cities and states before them, Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-Ill.) and Mayor Brandon Johnson have begged and pleaded with the White House for them to take control of the situation.
If Biden didn’t do anything when New York officials called on him, why should he do anything for Chicago?
Could it be that Johnson and Pritzker don’t know the game that Biden is playing? Biden could declare a border emergency — given the circumstances, he has more than enough cause — but so far, he has refused. He doesn’t care that his fellow Democratic politicians are hearing it from residents. He’s not concerned that there’s literally no place to put these people. And with winter coming, there are going to be thousands of cold, desperate people sleeping in tents.
Johnson and Pritzker had an emergency conference call with the White House trying to get Biden to budge and get off his duff and act.
On a conference call they pushed for on short notice, the two Democratic leaders and aides laid out concerns about Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott ramping up the number of buses bringing migrants to the city, arguing that it could double the number of migrants there – currently more than 17,000 – just as temperatures begin to drop in a city famous for its harsh winters.
White House intergovernmental affairs director Tom Perez, who was on the call along with White House chief of staff Jeff Zients, urged Chicago to follow the “best practices” put in place in New York, where new efforts have launched to try to help migrants obtain work permits. But that did little to quell concerns held by Pritzker and Johnson, who also observed New York City and state officials grapple with the arrival of thousands of migrants.
The White House tried putting the blame on Republicans.
“Without the help of Congress, the administration has been taking action,” said White House spokesperson Angelo Fernández Hernández. “Meanwhile, House Republicans continue to block the reform the immigration system needs and the $4 billion we requested to address the immediate needs of DHS to safely and humanely manage the Southwest Border and support communities across the country. We will continue to work closely with Illinois and states and cities across the country.”
Here’s another problem: Chicago will host the Democratic convention next August. Unless Biden does something to halt the border traffic streaming toward Chicago, Biden’s renomination convention is going to be a clown show disaster.
“A single office with an identified leader must be assigned to work for the cities and states across the silos of government to manage the challenges we all face,” Pritzker wrote in his letter to the White House.
Biden does not want that. He doesn’t want the border crisis coming anywhere near his White House. He won’t take responsibility unless and until he absolutely has to.
And that won’t be anytime soon. As long as the migrants aren’t starving to death or rioting in the streets, Biden will let the situation stew. Meanwhile, 200,000 additional migrants crossed the border illegally with most making their way North to cities that really don’t want them and can’t care for them.
