Abbott sends first bus of migrants to Chicago

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) announced Wednesday that the first bus of migrants from the southern border has arrived in the city of Chicago.

In a news release on Wednesday, Abbott said the migrants were dropped off at the city’s Union Station.

Abbott has been sending migrants to major Democratic-run cities in recent months in protest of the Biden administration’s immigration policies. Buses previously dropped off migrants in Washington, D.C., and New York City. 

“President Biden’s inaction at our southern border continues putting the lives of Texans — and Americans — at risk and is overwhelming our communities,” Abbott said in his statement Wednesday.

“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.”

Abbott also said that he hopes Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) will take responsibility for supporting the migrants upon arrival.

“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,” Abbott concluded. 

In her own statement, Lightfoot said on Wednesday that her administration will work with community partners to ensure that the migrants will receive food, shelter and protection, noting that they will not stand on the “racist practices” Abbott and his administration are currently doing. 

“This is not new; Chicago welcomes hundreds of migrants every year to out city and provides much-needed assistance,” she said in the statement. “Unfortunately, Texas Governor Greg Abbott is without any shame or humanity. But ever since he put these racists practices of expulsion in place, we have been working with our community partners to ready the city to receive these individuals.”

New York City officials have expressed their disdain over Abbott’s busing initiative, claiming that the governor placed wristbands with barcodes on migrants who were bused to the city as an intimidation tactic. 

“We know that Gov. Abbott has been trying to dehumanize people, trying to foment anti-immigrant hatred, and while New York will continue to welcome asylum seekers, it’s also our moral responsibility to denounce this kind of behavior by Gov. Abbott,” Manuel Castro, New York City’s commissioner of immigrant affair, said last week.