- Governor JB Pritzker wrote an open letter to Governor Abbott on Friday
- He urged Texas’ leader to show “mercy” to families being bused to his state as part of Operation Lonestar amid a fierce winter storm.
- Chicago will be pummeled by Storm Gerri this weekend, sending temperatures down to -2F
The governor of Illinois has begged Texas Governor Greg Abbott to stop transporting migrants to his state ahead of a life-threatening winter storm.
Governor JB Pritzker warned that implementing the policy as temperatures drop will jeopardize the safety of migrant children and families.
And with the mercury set to drop even further this weekend, he has begged Abbott for mercy.on behalf of the thousands of migrants arriving in Texas who will be sent to the sanctuary cities of Illinois.
Storm Gerri has already brought extreme weather to the Midwest. On Saturday, temperatures in Chicago are expected to drop to as low as -2F. Many of the migrants being dropped off in Illinois are arriving without coats or winter boots, Governor Pritzker warned.
“As winter threatens the lives of vulnerable people, please suspend your transports and do not send more people to our state,” he wrote in an open letter to Governor Abbot on Friday.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has written a letter to Texas Governor Greg Abbott, imploring him to stop transporting migrants into his state as a deadly winter storm looms.
Pritzker warned that many migrants are being dropped off on the streets, ill-equipped for the harsh Midwest winter
Pritzker (left) acknowledged that the current border crisis is “untenable” for southern states, but urged Governor Abbott (right) to use his “humanity”
The Illinois official acknowledged that the border situation for the Southern states is “untenable” and agreed that both states believe there is a need for federal immigration reform.
“We should be able to come together in a bipartisan manner to urge Congress to act,” Pritzker wrote. ‘But right now we are talking about people and their survival. I hope that now we can at least agree on saving lives.
But he accused Abbott of using the migrant crisis to score political points
“It appears you have no interest in working toward bipartisan solutions to the border crisis because that would put an end to your vicious political game, but I write to you today in hopes of appealing to your humanity,” he added to it.
The policy of transporting migrants north to sanctuary cities such as Chicago, Washington DC and New York began in 2022 under Operation Lonestar.
Pritzker said this tactic left the state overwhelmed with drop-offs “in inappropriate locations at all hours of the night” without notice.
“As we grapple with the existing challenges of your ongoing manufactured crisis, the days ahead threaten the families and children you send here. I implore you to at least pause these transports to save lives,” Pritzker wrote.
He said leaders must be able to “come together in a bipartisan manner to urge Congress to act.”
Temperatures will drop to -2F in Chicago this weekend with the arrival of Winter Storm Gerri
Nearly 40 migrants from Venezuela were in the parking lot of Love’s gas station near an Illinois highway on Dec. 21, according to the Kankakee County Sheriff’s Office.
“But right now we are talking about human survival. I hope that now we can at least agree on saving lives,” he concluded.
Abbott has sent more than 25,300 migrants to Chicago since August 2022, on buses and more recently on charter flights.
About 10,000 migrants cross the border every day, and many of them are sent to “sanctuary cities” like Chicago, New York and Denver.
Last month, a bus full of migrants heading to Chicago was found abandoned near an Illinois highway.
Nearly 40 migrants from Venezuela were in the parking lot of Love’s gas station near an Illinois highway on Dec. 21, according to the Kankakee County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities found many migrants walking along highways and highways wrapped in blankets. Left without money, food and adequate clothing, the group was under the impression that they had reached their destination.