The city of Chicago has begun cracking down on "rogue buses" coming into the city from Texas, imposing severe penalties on bus operators who don't register with the city before their arrival or arrive after a designated time.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott took one look at his attempt to interfere with his plan to send some illegal immigrants released at the border to Chicago and other northern cities and found an immediate solution: fly the migrants to Chicago and let Mayor Johnson sort it out.
Sanctuary city Chicago started obstructing and targeting our busing mission.
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) December 20, 2023
Texas will now expand our operation to include flights to Chicago.
Until Biden steps up to secure the border, we will continue to provide overwhelmed Texas border towns with much-needed relief. pic.twitter.com/kRoK8KBpJ2
Tuesday, the first planes from Texas arrived at O'Hare Airport carrying about 120 migrants.
NBC Chicago reported the private charter flight from El Paso landed at O'Hare International Airport and that the city was working to find space in its shelter system for any asylum seekers staying at the airport.
Faisal Al-Juburi is a spokesperson for RAICES, a nonprofit that provides legal and social services to migrants. He said Abbott’s move is nothing more than political theater.
“The buses, the planes the buoys the barbed wires, they don’t do anything to slow down migration at the end of the day. But these political stunts what they do is they’re causing a devastating blow,” said Al-Juburi.
So they don't work, but they cause a "devastating blow"? This fellow should get his talking points straight.
The White House weighs in on Gov. Abbott's move to fly migrants to Chicago after the city started impounding buses. "Yet again, Governor Abbott is showing how little regard or respect he has for human beings."https://t.co/rGyTAHGtqT pic.twitter.com/2xPhBlZHIh
— Natasha Korecki (@natashakorecki) December 21, 2023
It's not Abbott's fault that illegal aliens show up in Texas and Abbott can't take care of them all. It's not a question of compassion. In fact, it could be argued that Abbott is acting compassionately by busing and flying migrants to other cities that may be better equipped to care for the new arrivals.
Which city do you think is better able to handle a crush of migrants? Eagle Pass, Texas (Pop. 29,000) or Chicago (2.7 million)?
Abbott's most vocal critic is Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.
"The issue is not just how we respond in the city of Chicago," Johnson added. "It’s the fact we have a governor, a governor, an elected official in the state of Texas, that is placing families on buses without shoes, cold, wet, tired, hungry, afraid, traumatized, and then they come to the city of Chicago, where we have homelessness, mental health clinics that have been shut down and closed. We have people who are seeking employment. The governor of Texas needs to take a look in the mirror, with the chaos he’s causing for the people of this country."
Most people who arrive on buses in Chicago are single adults. And the vision of shoeless, cold, hungry, tired kids is tragic, indeed. But they aren't arriving that way in New York City, Washington, D.C., or any other northern city, or we'd have heard about it.
Johnson is lying and the governor's spokesperson called Johnson out for it.
Abbott’s press secretary, Andrew Mahaleris, told Fox News Digital that Johnson was "flat out lying."
"If he truly cared about these migrants, he would stop spreading falsehoods and complaining about a few thousand migrants being bussed into his sanctuary city," he said. "Instead, Mayor Johnson should call on President Biden to take immediate action to secure the border — something the president continues failing to do."
Abbott says Texas has bused about 23,000 migrants to Chicago, far fewer than he's sent to New York City. Johnson's incompetence and desperate attempt to deflect blame from himself is undeserving of a great city.
