Chicago’s mayor accused Texas Gov. Greg Abbott of being “racist” as she welcomed buses of migrants into the city Wednesday.
Chicago has become the third drop-off location for migrant buses coming from Texas.
Abbott announced that the two buses had reached the city Wednesday night, noting that they stopped at Union Station.
“President Biden’s inaction at our southern border continues putting the lives of Texans — and Americans — at risk and is overwhelming our communities,” he said in a statement.
“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 added.
Abbott originally ordered buses to drop migrants off in Washington, D.C., and eventually, New York City was added as the second location.
“We’ll continue bussing migrants to sanctuary cities like NYC, DC, & now Chicago until the federal gov’t does its job & secures the border,” he tweeted Wednesday.
While failing to mention President Biden’s immigration policies as an issue, Lightfoot insisted the migrants were welcomed but criticized Abbott and former President Donald Trump.
“Chicago is a welcoming city and as such has collaborated across various departments and agencies to ensure we greeted them with dignity and respect,” Lightfoot’s office said in a statement.
“As a city, we are doing everything we can to ensure these immigrants and their families can receive shelter, food, and most importantly protection,” she said.
Lightfoot added that many immigrants “are fleeing violent, traumatic, or otherwise unstable environments.”
“This is not new,” Lightfoot’s office noted. “Chicago welcomes hundreds of migrants every year to our city and provides much-needed assistance.”
Lightfoot’s office took the opportunity to criticize Abbott and his efforts to relieve his state of pressure from the border crisis.
“Unfortunately, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is without any shame or humanity,” the statement said.
“But ever since he put these racist practices of expulsion in place, we have been working with our community partners to ready the city to receive these individuals,” it read.
“We know that racism, discrimination, and human cruelty have played a pivotal role in how immigrants are received within our borders, and we are still working to recover from the previous presidential administration, which encouraged this behavior,” the office said of Trump.
The office said this was an “important moment” for Chicago and claimed they will not turn their backs on “those who need our help most.”
While visiting a shelter helping the first 75 immigrants who arrived on buses, Lightfoot said “Our city is prepared,” according to the Chicago Tribune.
Eric Adams, the mayor of New York City, and Muriel Bowser, the mayor of D.C., have also criticized Abbott for sending busloads of immigrants to their heavily populated cities.