EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday responded to calls from the mayor of Chicago to stop sending migrants to her city, saying she should instead call on President Joe Biden to secure the border.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot had penned a letter to Abbott, asking him to stop sending people, even as more migrants were expected to arrive Monday, adding that Chicago had no more shelter, space, or resources to accommodate an increase of individuals at this level.
In response to Lightfoot, Abbott said Texas’ busing strategy was needed to “provide much-needed relief to overwhelmed, small border communities amid the Biden Administration’s growing border crisis.”
“If you truly want to ‘work together to find a real solution’ to this border crisis gripping our nation, you must call on the Biden Administration to do its job by securing our border, repelling the illegal immigrants flooding into our communities, classifying the Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, and intercepting the deadly fentanyl that is endangering our country,” Abbott’s Letter to Lightfoot reads. “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.”
In August 2022, the State of Texas began busing migrants to Chicago due to its status as a “Welcoming City,” saying Chicago will not deny city services to individuals based on their immigration status. Texas also buses migrants to what Abbott called “sanctuary cities,” including Washington, D.C., New York City, and Philadelphia.
Cities that have adopted a “Welcoming City” ordinance, or have a sanctuary city designation, typically don’t require local police to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.