More than 1,640 asylum-seeking migrants have arrived in Chicago since the first bus pulled in on August 31 at Union Station, by the order of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Looking at what’s happened in other sanctuary cities targeted in this political theater, Chicago can only expect the number of bused migrants to grow.
Our city has welcomed them, and presumably will continue to do so. But the responsibility should come with more shared resources.
“This is not a new challenge at the border, but this is a new challenge for us, and we need federal support,” as Mayor Lori Lightfoot said at a press conference on Sept. 14 where Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a disaster declaration to aid people being bused from Texas. “We need resources, collaboration and communication, and that has to come in short order.”
“Any dollar that goes to the State of Texas or the State of Arizona or any other state that is abdicating its responsibility and manufacturing this crisis in our cities... every single one of those dollars needs to be recommitted to cities like Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C.,” Lightfoot said.
Exactly. The federal government should reconsider how it funds immigration resources, if border states are deliberating choosing to pass on the responsibility.
These border states have borne the brunt of the immigration crisis and have received the majority of federal immigration resources. But now that Abbot and his fellow Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis have chosen to make immigration a national issue, a national game plan is in order.
Sanctuary cities like Chicago need a comprehensive plan from the federal government to help manage what is looking to become a regular cadence of bused migrants. Not only through long-term funding, but also fixing our immigration system’s accommodations for asylum seekers.
‘Operation Lone Star’
Abbott’s “drop-off” policy began in April when he sent a bus of asylum-seekers to Washington, D.C. as a way to protest the Biden administration’s border policies.
“Operation Lone Star” then began sending migrants to New York City, Washington, D.C. and Chicago. Ariadna Phillips, founder of South Bronx Mutual Aid, said that when the buses first began to arrive, there were only one or two a day. Now they can be as high as eight.
What’s been most frustrating for Lightfoot, Pritzker and others in sanctuary cities has been the lack of information or advance notice from Texas. The time, date and number of asylum-seekers are recorded only as the bus arrives in the city.
Pritzker has deployed 75 Illinois National Guard members to help local community organizations and local governments provide help with the new migrants. But Pritzker has said the state of emergency will not be enough — because the busing of migrants is not expected to be temporary. And while getting migrants settled is just one step; another will be to help them manage the asylum-seeking process.
Upgrading immigration regulations
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he is pushing for additional funding in the government spending bill for nonprofits and communities that are working with the asylum seekers.
Durbin has also been advocating for the federal government to change immigration regulations and allow asylum seekers to work legally in the U.S. without having to wait six months.
“The truth is: America needs these families. If we had a functioning immigration system, employers would already be sponsoring them to work here,” Durbin told us. “We have 11 million unfilled jobs in this country. Our birth rate is not keeping pace with job creation, particularly in starting wage positions. And yet, our immigration system actively prevents us from filling these jobs.”
Abbott and DeSantis wanted to create chaos and spark anti-immigration sentiment with “Operation Lone Star.” They failed.
But the federal government should seize the opportunity to turn their theater into something good — funneling more resources to sanctuary cities and then fixing our immigration system so that those fleeing danger at home can find refuge in our country.
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