Democratic governors and mayors are reportedly fighting among themselves over sending immigrants out of their cities.
Thursday’s Chicago Sun-Times report spoke to multiple sources about the ongoing immigration crisis plaguing major cities including Chicago, Denver and New York City.
Democratic leaders have frequently attacked Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, for busing immigrants into sanctuary states and cities. But the report suggests that Democrats are unhappy with each other, especially the governors of Illinois and Colorado.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker reportedly criticized Colorado Governor Polis for sending migrants from Denver to Chicago. (Getty Images)
“The Governor of Illinois [J.B. Pritzker ] During that time, immigrants were being sent to Denver and then to Chicago, which Pritzker called “useless.” He said Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, told him, “We’re not telling people to go to Chicago.” They just got off the bus and said they wanted to go to Chicago. ” I said, “Come on.” it’s not. You’re buying a ticket to Chicago. ” I said to him, “I could do it all over again, but I’m not going to do it all over again.” This is not the way we should operate,” the report says.
Chicago Democrat slams city’s response to immigration crisis: ‘It’s an invasion’
Pritzker also appeared to criticize New York City Mayor Eric Adams, claiming that many of the state’s immigrants come from Adams’ city.
“In fact, the mayor of Chicago is close to the mayors, so there’s a list that I gave him. He said, ‘Here’s a list of how many people we’ve sent to Chicago. You should start with Mayor New and call each mayor.’ “Tell York that this has to stop,” Pritzker said.
Pritzker reportedly reported the matter to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson in January.
A group of migrants receives food outside a migrant landing zone during a winter storm on January 12, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Kamil Krzazinski/AFP via Getty Images)
The Chicago Sun-Times also spoke with former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, whose term ended when the migrant shipments began. She said she and Mayor Adams delivered a “cease and desist” message to Gov. Polis on immigration.
“He didn’t stop until we publicly called him out,” Lightfoot said. “We sent him a letter, we released it to the press, and they decided, ‘Oh, I’m getting a bad rap.’ I think it was the most despicable form of politics in the world.”
Pritzker noted that there were initially no concerns when bus transportation of immigrants first began in 2022.
“I didn’t think of it as a threat. Even when the first bus arrived, I only thought of it as a stunt. I didn’t think 40,000 people would arrive for this. Because, how do we know? And they certainly didn’t let us know. “Anyone,” Pritzker said.
Denver overwhelmed by 40,000-strong immigrant population
Lightfoot, by contrast, called the beginning of the crisis an “ambush.”
Colorado is sending immigrants to Chicago and New York City starting in 2023. (Boston Globe)
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“Early on, we weren’t very helpful in getting advance information. We didn’t have much help with numbers, who was on the bus manifest, what their status was, who they were. We didn’t know anything about what they were doing. “What country are they coming from, what are their medical needs, if any?” We actually had very little information. It was like an ambush, something like that,” Lightfoot said.
Fox News Digital reached out to the governor’s offices in Colorado and Illinois.
