Texas’ political stunt using children and parents as human props has now extended to a third area across the nation after the state said that recently arrived migrants who have already been processed by federal immigration officials would now be bused to Illinois. Sixty migrants arrived to Chicago on Wednesday, The Texas Tribune reports.
Right-wing governor Greg Abbott has been using these human beings as a political tool, and has repeatedly compared individuals and families arriving to the border to an “invasion” (this has also been the rhetoric of racist mass murderers). But in a statement, Illinois Gov. J.D. Pritzker welcomed arriving migrants.
RELATED STORY: 'New York is a sanctuary': New Yorkers welcome children and adults used as human props by Abbott
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"Illinois welcomes refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants, and we are working with federal and city officials to ensure that these individuals are treated with respect and safety as they look to connect with their family and friends,” Pritzker said Wednesday. He invoked his own immigration history and said that families seeking new homes today are not that much different than his own.
“My great-grandfather came to this country as an immigrant fleeing Ukraine in 1881,” Pritzker continued. “Immigrants just like my family seeking freedom and opportunity built this country. Illinois is and has always been a welcoming state."
In a statement, the office of Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said that the city had worked across various departments and agencies to ensure migrants were met with “dignity and respect,” adding that the office understood “many are fleeing violent, traumatic, or otherwise unstable environments.” While Abbott has claimed all busing is voluntary, New York officials have said some migrants they have received were forced by Texas to relocate.
Abbott’s stunt using children and adults as human props is also meant for the shock value, since Republicans don’t have any actual beneficial policy to run on. But the mayor’s office said that receiving immigrants “is not new” for the city. “Chicago welcomes hundreds of migrants every year to our city and provides much-needed assistance.” Illinois has previously taken a major step in dismantling the mass detention system by passing a law that effectively ended immigration detention within the state. A pilot program announced by the Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender and a number of non-profits earlier this year is working to ensure immigrants facing removal proceedings before the Chicago Immigration Court have access to legal help.
“Unfortunately, Texas Governor Greg Abbott is without any shame or humanity,” the mayor’s office continued, calling his busing a “racist” practice of “expulsion.”
“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. This is such an important moment for Chicago as the city has been a sanctuary for thousands of newcomers. We are welcoming them, and we will not turn our backs on those who need our help the most.”
New York officials had said some migrants have been forcibly relocated by Texas, including families who wanted to go to locations other than New York, according to Politico. CNN reported that Abbott has claimed that migrants signed a form, available in multiple languages, giving their consent to be transported, but there’s no indication that migrants were actually informed of what they were signing.
And while Abbott has repeatedly claimed migrants are a strain on state resources, El Paso Times reports his busing stunt has cost taxpayers $12 million. Regarding moving migrants to Chicago this week, “Abbott’s office could not be reached late Wednesday,” The Texas Tribune said.
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