Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has become the latest Democrat to plead with President Joe Biden to divert migrants from his state.
It comes just two years after he declared his state the “most hospitable state in the nation” and expanded protections for immigrants.
Pritzker joins New York Mayor Eric Adams and New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy among liberals who have professed pro-migrant policies but asked not to be accommodated in their jurisdiction.
In Chicago alone, 13,000 migrants have arrived in the city since August 2022, and the increase is expected to cost taxpayers $302 million by the end of the year.
In the letter, Pritzker calls the crisis in his state “untenable” due to “lack of intervention and coordination at the border” and demands that he stop placing the crisis in the hands of Democratic Party leaders.
“It is untenable to allow just one state to impose the burden on a number of Democratic-led states,” Pritzker wrote.
Just two years after declaring his state the “most hospitable state in the nation” and expanding immigrant protections, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has become the latest Democrat to plead with President Joe Biden to get migrants out of his state to lead
We are a nation that has welcomed immigrants and refugees since our founding, and we have done so in a bipartisan manner. It cannot be that only a few cities and states now have to bear the costs of this effort alone.”
The second-term governor, fantasized by some as a potential replacement for the 80-year-old Biden, made several demands to stem the crisis.
“Unfortunately, the welcome and assistance that Illinois has provided to these asylum seekers has not been accompanied by support from the federal government,” Pritzker wrote.
He recommended that the White House appoint a point person as an intermediary to reduce red tape, and asked the federal government to further manage where migrants are moved.
Other suggestions from Pritzker included providing financial assistance to state and local governments for various services, speeding up work authorization and approving state requests for federal services.
Just two years ago, however, Pritzker bragged about how welcoming the state was to migrants in a press release calling Illinois the ‘Most hospitable state in the country.’
“Throughout my governorship, I have directed my administration to implement policies that make Illinois a welcoming state for immigrants, and I am proud to sign these accountability measures into law to advance our cause,” Pritzker said at the time.
In the letter to Biden, Pritzker calls the crisis in his state “untenable” with “lack of intervention and coordination at the border,” and demands that he stop placing the crisis in the hands of Democratic Party leaders.
A family from Venezuela outside the Chicago 12th District police station
Migrants receive supplies outside the Chicago Police Department’s District 12 station
A migrant father from Venezuela feeds his 15-month-old son in the lobby of a police station
‘Every family, every child, every person deserves to feel safe and secure in the place they call home. I want to ensure that value defines what it means to live in Illinois.”
The announcement included a new Welcoming Illinois Office and expanded services for immigrant families.
It comes as Chicagoans are increasingly concerned about a wave of asylum seekers arriving on buses from southern states. Many of the migrants were transported north from Republican border states in an effort to prove that Democrats’ open arms policy is a disaster.
The number of migrants needing shelter in Chicago has continued to increase in recent months, and city leaders have said they will follow New York’s lead by converting several locations around the city into migrant shelters.
“We have identified multiple locations throughout the city that may be appropriate to process the family and individuals who are here by law and seeking asylum constitutionally and legally, so that they have a place that recognizes their dignity,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said .
Chicago officials have yet to specify which locations they are looking at, but they will reportedly be climate-controlled, military-grade tents, according to Councilwoman Maria Hadden.
The former parking lot of the Halsted Indoor Mall at 115th and Halsted Streets could be one of the locations for a planned tent camp, CBS Chicago reported. The space would be redeveloped into affordable housing, but is currently vacant
Last week, Democratic lawmakers from Chicago traveled to New York City to “bring back” lessons on how to deal with a wave of migrants in the Windy City.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has quietly signed a $29 million contract with a security company to build base camps for migrants. Chicago has seen 11,000 migrants arrive since August 2022
Hundreds of migrants are being hidden behind this black curtain at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, where asylum seekers have reported inhumane living conditions, with families forced to sleep on the floor for up to 10 days.
Furious New Yorkers interrupted Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who was leading their visit, outside Manhattan’s iconic Roosevelt Hotel, which has become the center of the Big Apple’s migrant scandal.
Lawmakers were forced to interrupt the press conference as the crowd continued to drown out Ocasio-Cortez.
‘Close the border! Close the border! Respect the AOC Constitution! I am your voter!’ a man shouted over the congressman’s speech into a megaphone.
As Chicago’s migrant crisis continues to worsen, Mayor Johnson has also faced backlash over a proposed “mansion tax” on sales of homes over $1 million, while his administration continues to impose higher taxes on households making more than $100,000.
The newly elected mayor wants to implement a tax increase to combat homelessness in the city.
Johnson believes that people who own properties worth $1 million in the US’s third-largest city “are rich, and should pay up when they sell those houses.”
He also wants to establish city-run grocery stores to promote “equitable” access to food, after half of the city’s Walmart and Whole Foods stores closed.
Officials in Chicago have said they will build tent shelters for migrants like those in New York City. The migrant camps set up on New York’s Randall’s Island can be seen above
Johnson’s new steps will help “repair the damage of the past that has contributed to deliberate disinvestment and exclusion and the lack of access to food” in historically disadvantaged communities.
Meanwhile, car thefts in the Windy City have increased 86 percent over the past year – from 42,512 reported incidents in 2022 to 54,983 so far this year.
Overall, this figure has increased by 227 percent since 2019, when 35,711 car thefts were reported.
Murder rates have also risen 19 percent over the past four years under the disastrous administration of Chicago’s last mayor, Lori Lightfoot, while robberies have risen 30 percent.