Chicago City Wire

Chicago Teacher’s Union President Stacy Davis Gates is criticizing the Chicago Tribune for a recent column asking Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to hold off on busing more illegal immigrants to Illinois from Texas as temperatures have plummeted.

Davis Gates is known for her divisive rhetoric and often resorting to appeals using highly racialized language.

“So folks praying and asking for benevolence from…Gov Abbott? Not shelter? Not addtl funding? Just benevolent behavior from the monster trafficking thousands of ppl across the country? …the double standard for leadership is something to see play out,” Davis Gates said on X.

Davis Gates’ comments came in response to a Chicago Tribune editorial highlighting the challenges faced by illegal immigrants as temperatures are expected to drop significantly, posing a threat to migrants relying on the city's "warming buses.”

The editorial called for a major mobilization effort to address the short-term emergency, emphasizing weather conditions posing a threat to migrants who currently rely on "warming buses" provided by the city.

“If city officials are adequately preparing, and we’ve seen little communication so far of what the plan is, this will need to be a major mobilization effort, not unlike that for a potentially catastrophic storm,” the Chicago Tribune editorial board said.

“Both city workers and nonprofits dedicated to this issue will be needed in significant numbers to ensure these newcomers, many of whom will never have experienced anything like what’s coming, get through this alongside other, more experienced Chicagoans.”

The Tribune's editorial urged Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to delay bus caravans until temperatures become more manageable.

Open border policies in Illinois, where CTU-backed Gov. J.B. Pritzker has signed bills making the state the most permissive in the nation regarding illegal immigrants, are cited as contributing to the situation.

Pritzker has also issued an executive order establishing a “Welcoming Illinois Office” for illegal immigrants such as those sent willingly from Texas to Illinois.

With nearly 30,000 migrants arriving in Illinois since August 2022, the state is grappling with the crisis, and taxpayer funds have reached almost $700 million in the past year.

State Rep. Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville), who recently visited the southern U.S. border, is urging the Biden administration to take decisive action, calling for the closure of the border in light of his "eye-opening experience" in Texas.

Halbrook highlighted the alarming situation at the border, where thousands of migrants are crossing the river daily.

“This area is seeing thousands of migrants a day cross the river,” Halbrook told Center Square. “One of the other stops we went to was just east of town, which was a pecan farm town; this was a stunning stop to see how they are crossing the rivers.”

As Pritzker issued his 18th disaster proclamation to address the ongoing crisis, Halbrook asserted that the legislature needs to step in urgently.

Pritzker's executive order establishing a "Welcoming Illinois Office" for illegal immigrants has been highlighted, with the state's unauthorized population estimated at 425,000, including 277,000 from Mexico.

In contrast, Texas, with the largest border with Mexico, has an estimated unauthorized population of 1,739,000, including 1,160,000 from Mexico, according to the Migration Policy Institute.