Chicago City Wire

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott shot back at Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s request that he stop sending illegal immigrants to the city by bus. 

Abbott’s comments came after Lightfoot begged him to stop the busing of illegal immigrants crossing over into Texas. 

“The ongoing border and humanitarian crisis that Texas and the entire United States are grappling with is a direct result of President Biden’s open-border policies,” Abbott said in the May 1 letter. “Under the previous administration, illegal immigration was at its lowest levels in decades. Now, President Biden is preparing to open the floodgates by ending Title 42 expulsions next week, and Texas is on the frontlines of this catastrophe.” 

He suggested that if the Chicago mayor is true to her commitment to "work together to find a real solution" to the border crisis, Lightfoot must call on President Joe Biden to secure the border, repel the illegal immigrants and classify the Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. 

“As the mayor of a self-declared sanctuary city, it is ironic to hear you complain about Chicago’s struggle to deal with a few thousand illegal immigrants, which is a fraction of the record-high numbers we deal with in Texas on a regular basis. Texas border towns like Eagle Pass, Brownsville, and Laredo—and even bigger cities like El Paso—cannot handle the flood of illegal immigrants rushing across our southern border,” Abbott added. “With Title 42 expulsions set to end next week, the federal government has estimated that we could have up to 13,000 illegal immigrants cross the U.S.–Mexico border every single day. Some reports indicate that there are nearly 35,000 waiting to cross into El Paso as soon as Title 42 expulsions are no longer in effect. If Chicago can’t deal with 8,000 in less than a year, how are small Texas border communities supposed to manage 13,000 in just one day?” 

The federal government should also have the ability to intercept fentanyl that is endangering the country, according to the Texas governor. 

“These surges in illegal crossings will be accompanied by criminal activity, gang violence, and deadly drugs like fentanyl. These problems do not stay in border communities in Texas. They make their way all throughout the country, including to the streets of Chicago. Innocent Americans are put at risk every day by these open-border policies,” he said. “You are right that 'this situation is completely untenable,' but this is not a Texas problem—this is a problem for the entire United States of America. To provide much-needed relief to our overrun border communities, Texas began busing migrants to sanctuary cities such as your 'Welcoming City,' along with Washington, D.C., New York City, and Philadelphia, with more to come. Until Biden secures the border to stop the inflow of mass migration, Texas will continue this necessary program.”

Lightfoot sent a charged letter to Abbott on April 30 requesting he not send any more illegal immigrants to the city. Abbott and Texas have been regularly busing illegal immigrants to “sanctuary cities” such as Chicago where those who have entered the country illegally are provided with the status of ordinary citizens. 

“Since we began responding to the arrival of migrants sent by your delegation in August 2022, we have shouldered the responsibility of caring for more than 8,000 men, women, and children with no resources of their own,” Lightfoot said in her letter to Abbott. 

Lightfoot added that she was “sympathetic” to Texas's situation. 

“Though I am sympathetic to the significant challenges that border cities face, this situation is completely untenable. The national immigration problem will not be solved by passing on the responsibility to other cities.”

Abbott has been a harsh critic of Lightfoot. Abbott congratulated Chicago after Lightfoot became the first sitting mayor in four decades to not make the runoff election. Chicago City Wire reported Abbott posted “Congratulations Chicago!” on Twitter at the time.

According to Abbott, Chicago is the ideal place for people violating the law to enter the country since it is a sanctuary city and won't treat illegal immigrants differently based on their status. Abbott emphasized the campaign to send illegal immigrants elsewhere was a response to President Joe Biden's position on "open borders” policy. 

"President Biden's inaction at our southern border continues putting the lives of Texans- and Americans-at risk and is overwhelming our communities," Abbott stated in a press release. “To continue providing much-needed relief to our small, overrun border towns, Chicago will join fellow sanctuary cities Washington, D.C. and New York City as an additional drop-off location. 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."