Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot sent a letter to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Sunday, urging his administration to stop what she called the inhumane and dangerous action of bussing migrants to Chicago.
In a news release, the mayor's office said it is aware that the state of Texas is planning to resume bussing individuals to cities across the U.S., including Chicago, next week. Since Aug. 2022, when the bussing program began, more than 8,000 men, women and children have arrived in Chicago, according to officials.
In the letter to Abbott, Lightfoot wrote Chicago is a welcoming city and explained it collaborated with local partners to address the challenge, but contended Abbott's "lack of consideration or coordination in an attempt to cause chaos and score political points has resulted in a critical tipping point in our ability to receive individuals and families in a safe, orderly, and dignified way."
The mayor continued on, urging the governor to "treat these individuals with the respect and dignity that they deserve," saying "to tell them to go to Chicago or to inhumanely bus them here is an inviable and misleading choice."
With the city anticipating the arrival of more migrants, Lightfoot is seeking additional resources and support from the federal government and insisted she'll call upon them to withhold FEMA funding if buses are once again sent to Chicago.
"Governor Abbott, this is not a state v. state or city v. city problem," the mayor continued. "The immigration crisis is a national challenge that requires national collaboration. For the good of our country and the individuals who are seeking safety in refuge, let’s work together to find a real solution. And that real solution will never be the unilateral bussing of migrants to cities like Chicago."
In September, after one of the first groups of migrants arrived in the city, Lightfoot issued a welcome to the migrants, but also blasted Abbott's immigration policies as “racist and xenophobic.” By mid-November, Chicago had welcomed its 300th bus of asylum-seeking migrants.
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Abbott’s administration previously said the bussing strategy was implemented because of the burden placed on Texas taxpayers due to the flow of asylum-seekers and migrants into the country at the southern border. Lightfoot previously had harsh words for what she argued was occurring.
“This is about a cheap political point. It’s not about sharing the load,” she said in September. “To Greg Abbott and his enablers in Texas: with these continued political stunts, (he) has confirmed what many of us had already known: he’s a man without any morals, humanity, or shame.”
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Abbott and his administration have also sent buses to Washington, D.C. and New York, and the governor has indicated that he will continue the program until President Joe Biden’s administration addresses what he calls a “crisis” at the southern border.
The full text of the letter sent to Abbott is below:
"To Governor Greg Abbott,
The City of Chicago is aware that the State of Texas is planning to resume bussing individuals and families to cities throughout the United States, including Chicago, starting Monday, May 1st. I am, yet again, appealing to your better nature and asking that you stop this inhumane and dangerous action.
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. That number continues to grow. Nearly all the migrants have been in dire need of food, water, and clothing and many needed extensive medical care. Some of the individuals you placed on buses were women in active labor, and some were victims of sexual assault. None of these urgent needs were addressed in Texas. Instead, these individuals and families were packed onto buses and shipped across the country like freight without regard to their personal circumstances.
Chicago is a Welcoming City and we collaborate with County, State, and community partners to rise to this challenge, but your lack of consideration or coordination in an attempt to cause chaos and score political points has resulted in a critical tipping point in our ability to receive individuals and families in a safe, orderly, and dignified way. We simply have no more shelters, spaces, or resources to accommodate an increase of individuals at this level, with little coordination or care, that does not pose a risk to them or others.
I know by your actions that you either do not see or do not care about the trauma these migrants have already faced and continue to suffer under the humanitarian crisis you have created. But I beseech you anyway: treat these individuals with the respect and dignity that they deserve. To tell them to go to Chicago or to inhumanely bus them here is an inviable and misleading choice.
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.
I will continue calling on the federal government for more resources and support, as well as much needed policy changes, just as I will call upon them to withhold all FEMA funding slated for Texas if chartered buses resume coming to our city. But I would rather work with you than against you.
Governor Abbott, this is not a state v. state or city v. city problem. The immigration crisis is a national challenge that requires national collaboration. For the good of our country and the individuals who are seeking safety in refuge, let’s work together to find a real solution. And that real solution will never be the unilateral bussing of migrants to cities like Chicago."
