Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot issued an emergency declaration on Tuesday regarding illegal migrants being sent to the ‘Windy City’ by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
Forty-eight migrants arrived in Chi-town on Tuesday. Lightfoot issued the emergency declaration following their arrival, according to a press release, which states that the city and state have provided emergency care for over 8,000 migrants since August 2022.
“We should all understand that this crisis will likely deepen before we see it get better, so as we move forward, the City of Chicago will have to bring additional locations online to prepare for the arrival of more individuals and families and to relieve Chicago Police Department districts,” Lightfoot’s office said. “The City of Chicago is in the midst of a national humanitarian crisis, and through a unified effort in accordance with its values as a welcoming city, Chicago is doing everything it can to respond to the urgency of this matter. The City has continued to call on federal and state governments to support the new arrival mission with much-needed additional funding and resources for emergency shelter and resettlement, as there are not enough resources currently to meet the need.”
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In the executive order, Lightfoot called on Gov. JB Pritzker to mobilize the National Guard to provide staffing and logistical support to address this emergency in Chicago.
At the end of April, the mayor wrote a letter to Abbott, telling him Chicago had no more shelters or resources to accommodate the increase in migrants.
“We don’t have any more space. I cannot emphasize that enough,” Lightfoot said in a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
“Nearly all the migrants have been in dire need of food, water, and clothing and many needed extensive medical care,” Lightfoot wrote. “Some of the individuals you placed on buses were women in active labor, and some were victims of sexual assault. None of these urgent needs were addressed in Texas. Instead, these individuals and families were packed onto buses and shipped across the country like freight without regard to their personal circumstances.”
Reports are Texas is running out of space and resources as well.
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Abbott sent migrants to Chicago in response to “President Biden’s open border policies overwhelming border communities in Texas.” The Republican governor has also sent migrants to New York City and Washington, D.C.
The United States is bracing for the expiration of a pandemic-era border restriction, Title 42, this week, with officials rightfully fearing a catastrophic migrant surge. It’s happening.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in April, that there would be a surge in migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border when Title 42 ends on May 11.
Migrant encounters topped 1.2 million at the southern border between October and March, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
“We do anticipate a surge in the number of encounters at our southern border,” Mayorkas told Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Gary Peters.
“The overarching approach of this administration is not only to invest of the countries of origin, but, given the reason why people flee their homes, whether it’s a more authoritarian regime, persecution by reason of an individual’s membership in a particular social group, increasing violence, poverty, corruption, what we are doing is building lawful pathways so individuals do not need to place their lives and their life savings in the hands of ruthless smugglers who only seek to exploit them for profit, at the same time, delivering a consequence for those individuals who do not avail themselves with the lawful pathway we provide,” Mayorkas said.
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President Joe Biden set the expiration of the COVID-19 emergencies, including Title 42, for May 11.
The agents working the frontlines of the southern border had said they had minimal instructions about handling an expected surge of illegal immigrants come Title 42’s end and were just being told to ‘mentally ready’ themselves for the worst.
With Title 42 in place, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has had record migrant encounters, with more than 2.3 million in fiscal year 2022 and more than one million between October and February.
On Sunday, FOX News captured the surge at the border on drone footage.
“Remarkable video from our Fox drone team shows an enormous line of hundreds of migrants who just crossed illegally into Brownsville, TX this evening. A large majority of them are single adults. The RGV continues to see a massive surge of illegal crossings ahead of T42 drop,” said FOX News Bill Melugin.
Last week, former President Donald J. Trump released a new video slamming President Joe Biden’s plan to revoke Title 42.
Trump said this will lead to dangerous individuals flooding the border and bringing mayhem and chaos into American communities.
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“Under my leadership, we had the most secure border in U.S. history by far,” President Trump said. “We replaced catch and release with detain and deport. One of my most successful policies was Title 42, which allowed for instant expulsion of any illegal alien who crossed our borders— anybody, if they were bad, we got them out. We got them out fast. When I take the oath of office on January 20, 2025, we will immediately begin the process of fully securing the border and removing the illegal aliens Joe Biden has unlawfully allowed to break into our country,” Trump said.
President Trump called on Congress to immediately choke off and terminate all funding for catch and release, and pledged to begin the process of fully securing the border and removing the illegal aliens, if reelected.
The Pentagon is sending a contingent of troops to the southern border to reinforce Customs and Border Protection (CBP) missions ahead of the surge in migrant entrances.
The Department of Homeland Security requested the Pentagon’s assistance with temporarily adding 1,500 military personnel who will mostly perform administrative tasks and not conduct any law enforcement work, leaving that to CBP.
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“At the request of DHS, DOD will provide a temporary increase of an additional 1,500 military personnel, for 90 days, to supplement CBP efforts at the border,” the official said. “These 1,500 military personnel will fill critical capability gaps, such as ground-based detection and monitoring, data entry, and warehouse support, until CBP can address these needs through contracted support.”
“They will not be doing any law enforcement work,” the official added.
The official did not say whether the troops would be drawn from active duty units or be called up from the Ready Reserve.
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