Prairie State Wire

Gov. J.B. Pritzker begs federal government for money to address illegal immigrant crisis as he calls the move by Texas to bus illegal immigrants to Illinois a ‘dehumanizing attempt to score political points.”

Pritzker’s rhetoric comes after he signed a bill in 2021 making Illinois the most welcoming state in the nation to illegal immigrants, of which the population is far less than that of Texas.

“In the 13 months since the first bus of asylum seekers arrived in Illinois from the border, our state has undertaken an unprecedented humanitarian response to the arrival of now over 15,000 people,” Pritzker said in a letter to President Joe Biden.

“Governors and mayors from border states have shipped people to our state like cargo in a dehumanizing attempt to score political points. The people of Illinois are kind and generous. We believe in the fundamental right of every human, especially those facing persecution, to find refuge and live with dignity in this great country of ours.”

“But as the numbers being transported to Chicago are accelerating, the humanitarian crisis is overwhelming our ability to provide aid to the refugee population. Unfortunately, the welcome and aid Illinois has been providing to these asylum seekers has not been matched with support by the federal government. Most critically, the federal government’s lack of intervention and coordination at the border has created an untenable situation for Illinois.”

“On top of the 15,000 that have arrived in Chicago and Illinois over the last 13 months, we are now seeing busloads more migrants at increasingly higher rates being sent specifically to Chicago each day. Our state government has been forced to dedicate over $330 million to provide humanitarian aid - and that amount is increasing each day. That’s a massive amount of money for a state still overcoming the health and economic effects of COVID-19. Add to that the over $100 million the city of Chicago contributed. Though we have found temporary housing in existing buildings for a majority of the refugees, we are challenged to find additional housing for the continuous flow of people who keep coming and are now forced to sleep in police stations and on sidewalks. This situation is untenable and requires your immediate help beyond the coming work authorizations for some of the asylum seekers.”

“There is much more that can and must be done on a federal level to address a national humanitarian crisis that is currently being shouldered by state and local governments without support.”

“First and foremost, I recommend that there be one person in the federal government who works directly for you in the White House who can lead the oversight of our nation’s efforts at the border. Right now, we have too many different federal department contacts - who are uncoordinated with one another - that handle various programs related to this humanitarian crisis.”

“A single office with an identified leader must be assigned to work for the cities and states across the silos of government to manage the challenges we all face.”

Pritzker and Biden are in lockstep in allowing for an open southern border.

The New York Post noted Biden’s border policies are causing a substantial surge in migration from various countries.

The influx includes tens of thousands of Mexican families and migrants from countries like Guatemala, Honduras, Ecuador, Peru, China, Senegal, and other African and Asian nations, with a record 91,000 migrants crossing in family groups in August alone.

The open border policies are spurred by states like Illinois where Pritzker in in 2021 signed bills making Illinois the state with the most permissive policy in the nation regarding illegal immigrants.

The bills signed into law aim to strengthen protections for immigrant and refugee communities and reinforce Illinois as a welcoming state.

The legislation expanded workplace protections for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, addresses hate crimes against immigrant communities, and requires local officials to end partnerships with ICE.

While signing the bevy of such legislation Pritzker issued an executive order establishing a “Welcoming Illinois Office” for illegal immigrants such as those sent willingly from Texas to Illinois.

According to the Migration Policy Institute Illinois’ “unauthorized population” is 425,000 with 277,000 coming from Mexico illegally.

Meanwhile, the Migration Policy Institute notes Texas, which shares the largest border of any state with Mexico, has an estimated “unauthorized population” of 1,739,000 with 1,160,000 coming from Mexico.