As more migrants arrived in Chicago from Texas on Sunday, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D-IL) appeared to be buckling under the pressure as her city has now been forced to welcome a third bus of migrants who are desperate need of a new home.
The migrants arrived in the Windy City after Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) sent two buses to Chicago last week. Abbott said he will continue to bus migrants to sanctuary cities until the federal government secures the southern border.
Lightfoot, who prior to migrants turning up in Chicago, made repeated claims that she would welcome them with open arms should they land on her doorstep, but now that it’s actually happening, the Windy City Mayor is now lashing out at Gov. Greg Abbott for following through with his promise.
“My frustration comes from the actions of the governor of Texas,” she said at a press conference. “There could be a level of coordination and cooperation, but he chooses to do none of those things. Instead, he chooses to send human beings across the country to an uncertain destination. That’s unacceptable.”
“He is manufacturing a human crisis and it makes no sense to me,” Lightfoot said.
After Lightfoot took an unnecessary minute to slam Abbott for sending more migrants, instead of simply getting to work on housing them, the Mayor did reiterate that she would help them find shelter, work and schools.
The only problem, however, is that Lori has no idea how she is going to pay for her new neighbors, an issue she probably should have thought of before accepting them into her city.
In a scrambled attempt to save face and not lose what little respect she has left from her constituents, Lightfoot announced the launch of a donation page for the migrants in response to the arrivals. The page asks for necessities like clothes, shoes, diapers and blankets. It also asks that willing participants sign up to be a volunteer and to help with donations.
“We have people coming as families, young children with their first taste of democracy and freedom in many instances and we need to make sure that the memory that they have of Chicago and of the United States is favorable,” Lightfoot said. “Regardless of where their life journey takes them, I want them to feel like in this moment that they came to this city, and we wrapped our arms around them, loved them and supported them.”
Abbott, who has also sent migrants to Washington, D.C., and New York City, was quick to call out the Mayor after attacks were made against him.
“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,” he said in a statement last week.
Lori Lightfoot, who appears to be way in over her head, is also dealing with skyrocketing crime in her city.
Last year, 797 people were murdered in Chicago, which was 25 more than 2020 and the most since 1996, according to police data. However, homicides are down 16% this year to 444, as of Aug. 28, according to Fox News.
From the affluent downtown areas to the south side, residents of Chicago have been dealing with a spike in violent crime. Chicago has seen a bloody and deadly Labor Day weekend. So far, ten people have been killed and dozens injured in shootings.
