Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-IL) pleaded with Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) to stop busing immigrants to his state as Illinois has been hammered by snow and heavy rain in a winter storm sweeping the United States.
Pritzker wrote to Abbott that he was “appeal[ing] to your humanity.” The Republican governor has been ordering buses with immigrants from the southern border to cities such as New York City, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and other Democratic-led areas since 2022.
“You seem to have no interest in working on bipartisan solutions to the border crisis because that would put an end to your cruel political game, but I am writing to you today hoping to appeal to your humanity,” Pritzker wrote in a letter shared online.
The Arctic blast brought snowfall of up to 13 inches in northeast Illinois Friday morning to Saturday morning — causing hundreds of flight cancellations at Chicago O’Hare International Airport and school closures.
“Your callousness, sending buses and planes full of migrants in this weather, is now life-threatening to every one of the arrivals,” Pritzker wrote in his letter. “Hundreds of children’s and families’ health and survival are at risk due to your actions.”
Responding to Pritzker’s request on Friday, Abbott’s office said the state would not stop the migrant transfers until President Joe Biden secures the border.
“Instead of complaining about migrants sent from Texas, where we are also preparing to experience severe winter weather across the state, Governor Pritzker should call on his party leader to finally do his job and secure the border — something he continues refusing to do,” Abbott spokesman Andrew Mahaleris said in an email to the Chicago Sun-Times.
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“Until President Biden steps up and does his job to secure the border, Texas will continue transporting migrants to sanctuary cities to help our local partners respond to this Biden-made crisis,” Mahaleris added.
Since August 2022, roughly 30,000 immigrants have arrived in Illinois from Texas buses, according to City of Chicago data, and 4,300 have been flown to the state.
