Lightfoot, Pritzker Open To More Migrants From Texas

By Greg Bishop | The Center Square

CHICAGO, IL — About 60 foreign nationals who crossed the U.S. border illegally into Texas are now in Chicago. More are to be expected.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker say they are welcoming the new arrivals.

Among benefits foreign nationals in Illinois can receive are temporary visitor driver’s licenses and also medical care provided by the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services for noncitizens ages 42 and up that meet certain income thresholds.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Wednesday night that the first group of foreign nationals in the country illegally have been bused to Chicago. The migrants were dropped off at Union Station, Abbott’s office said.

Lightfoot said Chicago's various departments and agencies are greeting the new arrivals with “dignity and respect” by providing shelter, food and protection, and said Abbott is implementing “racist practices of expulsion.”

“We understand that many are fleeing violent, traumatic, or otherwise unstable environments,” Lightfoot said Wednesday evening. “This is such an important moment for Chicago as a city has been a sanctuary for thousands of newcomers. We are welcoming them and we will not turn our backs on those who need our help most.”

Abbott has sent about 10,000 migrants who crossed the border illegally into Texas to Washington, D.C. and New York City. "Chicago will now be a drop-off location for the busing strategy,” Abbott’s office said, "as part of the Governor’s response to President [Joe] Biden’s open border policies overwhelming border communities in Texas."

“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 said in a statement. “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 action as these migrants receive resources from a sanctuary city with the capacity to serve them.”

Pritzker issued a statement late Wednesday evening.

“Illinois welcomes refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants, and we are working with federal and city officials to ensure that these individuals are treated with respect and safety as they look to connect with their family and friends,” Pritzker said. “My great-grandfather came to this country as an immigrant fleeing Ukraine in 1881. Immigrants just like my family seeking freedom and opportunity built this country. Illinois is and has always been a welcoming state.”

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