Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker begs for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to stop sending migrants – as new census figures show 4,500 more asylum seekers arrived in Chicago than previously reported

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has begged his Texas counterpart Greg Abbott to stop ferrying migrants to Chicago as bad weather hits the Windy City this week.

The Democrat’s request comes as new census figures show Chicago has 4,468 more recently arrived asylum seekers than previously thought, bringing the total to 34,562.

“While action at the federal level is pending, I plead with you for mercy for the thousands of people who are unable to speak for themselves,” Pritzker, a Democrat, wrote in a letter to Republicans sent Friday and seen by the Chicago Sun times.

“If winter threatens the lives of vulnerable people, please suspend your shipments and do not send more people to our state.”

Pritzker added that Abbott’s “callousness” in flying or busing migrants to Chicago during the weather conditions was “now life-threatening to all arrivals” as temperatures are expected to drop.

Governor Abbott’s office responded by saying he will stop sending migrants to Chicago when the president ‘secures the border’

The city has received 34,562 migrants since Abbott began sending asylum seekers crossing the U.S.-Mexico border to northern sanctuary cities

Governor Abbott’s office responded by saying he will stop sending migrants to Chicago when the president “secures the border,” and claimed bus drivers were taking extra precautions because of the weather.

Republican spokesman Andrew Mahaleris told the Sun-Times: “Instead of complaining about migrants sent from Texas, where we are also preparing for severe winter weather across the state, Governor Pritzker should call on his party leader to finally do its job and guarantee safety. the border – something he continues to refuse to do.

“Until President Biden acts and does his job to secure the border, Texas will continue to transport migrants to sanctuary cities to help our local partners respond to this Biden-induced crisis.”

Wind chills in Chicago reached minus 17 degrees this weekend.

Hundreds of migrant families were placed in one of 27 temporary shelters set up for them by the city, and about 200 stayed in warming buses at the city’s landing zone.

The city has received 34,562 migrants since Abbott began sending asylum seekers crossing the U.S.-Mexico border to northern sanctuary cities, including more than 4,000 who arrived by air.

Migrants arrive in Democratic-run cities on buses funded by the Republican governors of Texas and Florida

Migrants are seen at the landing zone in the West Loop on Friday, January 5, 2024 in Chicago

Migrants walk outside the migrant landing zone after receiving food during a winter storm on January 12, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois

Chicago is scrambling to house hundreds of asylum seekers still sheltering on sidewalks, in police stations and at the city’s busiest airport as the cold weather sets in and winter approaches.

Other Democratic-led cities are experiencing similar influxes, including Denver, Houston, Los Angeles and New York, which have hosted more than 120,000 asylum seekers.

Illinois announced last month that it would provide an additional $160 million to resettle migrants arriving in Chicago, including $65 million to help the city build and operate two temporary shelters to keep people outside in the sleep cold.

The state announced it would donate an additional $4 million to feed asylum seekers in partnership with the Greater Chicago Food Depository.

Chicago spent nearly $1 million on a shuttered migrant camp on a plot in Brighton Park – despite warnings the site was not safe after toxic chemicals and heavy metals were found on site.

The plans were scrapped weeks before a five-year-old boy fell ill on December 18 and was pronounced dead in one of Chicago’s flimsy shelters in an unheated warehouse where thousands of other migrants lived.

The mayors of Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles and New York have urged more federal aid to deal with the surge.

Migrants arrive in Democratic-run cities on buses funded by the Republican governors of Texas and Florida. Critics initially dismissed the effort as a political stunt, but more than a year later, cities are struggling to cope with the influx and their resources are dwindling.

The situation is even more urgent in New York than in Chicago. New York has received more than 140,000 asylum seekers in the past year, and about half of them are staying in shelters run by the city, which is required by law to provide emergency housing to the homeless.

New York Mayor Eric Adams has called the influx of migrants into the city a crisis and has begun warning that shelters are so full that migrants will soon be forced onto the streets despite the cold weather.