Print By Tom Howell Jr. - The
Washington Times - Tuesday, May 2, 2023
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says he will continue to bus migrants to
Chicago despite pleas from departing Mayor Lori Lightfoot to stop the practice. Ms. Lightfoot, a Democrat, sent a letter to Mr. Abbott, a
Republican, on Sunday saying her city doesn’t have the resources to care for the migrants. Mr. Abbott said she would be better off complaining to President Biden. “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,” he said Monday in a letter to Ms. Lightfoot. “Until Biden secures the border to stop the inflow of mass migration, Texas will continue this necessary program.” Mr. Abbott started busing migrants to the liberal cities in the fall. He says places that bill themselves as sanctuary cities should be willing to absorb some of the influx Texas sees on a regular basis as a border state. He said things are about to get worse as the administration ends the Title 42 pandemic measure that allowed the government to turn away many migrants at the border. “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,” he wrote. “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.” The governor pointed to estimates that 13,000 migrants could head across the border each day. “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?” he wrote.
Democratic leaders such as Ms. Lightfoot and
New York City Mayor Eric Adams have said they sympathize with Texas’s plight but they would like to see increased federal resources and national collaboration instead of the busing program. “The national immigration problem will not be solved by passing on the responsibility to other cities,” Ms. Lightfoot wrote to Mr. Abbott over the weekend. “But I would rather work with you than against you.” • Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com . Copyright © 2023 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission . Please read our comment policy before commenting. Click to Read More and View Comments Click to Hide Sponsored Stories