Texas Governor Begins Busing Migrants to Chicago

Texas Governor Greg Abbott delivered a busload of migrants to Chicago Wednesday night. The delivery marks the expansion of sanctuary city destinations to include New York and Washington, D.C.

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

“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,” the Texas governor added.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker (D) welcomed the migrants and likened their journey to that of his great-grandfather who left Ukraine in 1881, ABC7 Chicago reported.

The Chicago ABC affiliate spoke with a Venezuelan family who got off Texas’ first Chicago-bound bus.

The father, who arrived with his wife and two small children said they were hoping to find a better life after their inhumane journey to get to the United States.

“We just left Venezuela, went to Colombia, going through the jungle in Panama,” William Mijares said. “We were not treated like humans. We were treated like the worst kind of people in the world and we don’t understand why, but that’s the way they consider us.”

The Chicago Mayor’s Office also welcomed the migrants, adding, “This is not new; Chicago welcomes hundreds of migrants every year to our city and provides much-needed assistance.” The mayor’s office went on to describe the action of Governor Abbott to transport approximately 60 migrants on air-conditioned buses as “inhumane” and “racist.”

More than 118,000 crossed into the Texas-based border sectors in July alone, Breitbart Texas reported. Less than 10,000 have been sent by Texas to the sanctuary cities of New York, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.

Approximately 55,000 entered in the Del Rio Sector in July. This exceeds the population of the two largest border cities — Eagle Pass and Del Rio, Texas. Their populations are approximately 30,000 and 36,000 respectively.

“In April, Governor Abbott directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to charter buses to transport migrants from Texas to Washington, D.C., Abbott’s office stated. “Earlier this month, the Governor added New York City as [a] second drop-off location. Since beginning this busing strategy in the spring, thousands of migrants have been transported to these sanctuary cities while providing much-needed relief to Texas’ overwhelmed border communities.”