Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sends bus of migrants to Chicago

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Migrants are being helped in Chicago after Texas Gov. Greg Abbot sent them to the city Wednesday night from his state on a bus, and says he's going to send more.

Abbott has been sending buses of migrants out of Texas to Washington, D.C., and New York City – on the grounds that those cities are sanctuary cities and a point needs to be made about President Joe Biden's "inaction at the border."

In a news release he tweeted out Wednesday night, Abbott wrote that Chicago has been added to a list of migrant drop-off cities. He said the first bus of migrants were dropped off outside Union Station Wednesday night.

"President Biden's inaction at our southern border continues putting the lives of Texans – and Americans – at risk and is overwhelming our communities," Abbott said in a news release. "To continue providing much-needed relief to our small, overrun border towns, Chicago will join fellow sanctuary cities Washington, D.C. and New York City as an additional drop-off location. Mayor (Lori) 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."

A spokesman for Mayor Lori Lightfoot issued a statement Wednesday night saying the city had received confirmation that about 60 migrants were headed to Chicago from Texas.

"Chicago is a welcoming city and as such has collaborated across various departments and agencies to ensure we greeted them with dignity and respect. We understand that many are fleeing violent, traumatic, or otherwise unstable environments," the statement said in part. "We will respond with essential services while these individuals navigate the next steps of their journey and our community partners have been working diligently to provide a safety net."

The statement also took Abbott to task.

"Unfortunately, Texas Governor Greg Abbott is without any shame or humanity," the Mayor's office 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."

Mayor Lori Lightfoot later spoke outside the Salvation Army Freedom Center at 825 W. Chicago Ave. in the Humboldt Park neighborhood – where at least some of the migrants were taken. She reiterated that the migrants would be welcomed and cared for, but slammed Gov. Abbott and his actions.

"What we see here is who we are as Chicagoans. When we have people come to our city – no matter their country of origin, no matter their circumstances – we all rally together and we stand tall. That's what we have done. That's what we will do," Lightfoot said. "But let me also say this – shame on Governor Abbott. What he is doing is immoral, unpatriotic, and it defies the values of who we are as Americans. We can disagree on policy and politics, but you don't treat people this way. We will, no matter, stand up, but shame on him. He brings a stain upon our nation. This absolutely cannot continue."

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker's office also emphasized that the state "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."

The Governor's office said the state's Department of Human Services and Emergency Management Agency learned from the regional FEMA office Friday about the migrants being sent to Chicago. The migrants are largely from Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, the Governor's office said.

CBS 2's Marybel González was on the scene just after the bus arrived at Union Station Wednesday night. She reported seeing about 24 to 30 people – including pregnant women, children, and even babies.

Many of the migrants sat on the sidewalk outside Union Station to await what was next.

The migrants said they left Texas through Eagle Pass around 5 p.m. Tuesday and arrived at Union Station around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Some of the migrants reported they began their journey in Venezuela and worked their way through harsh jungle conditions. Some reported they were robbed on the way.

Upon arriving in Texas, some migrants said they were given the option to go to Chicago, New York City, or Washington, D.C. But some said they were not given a choice and were just sent to Chicago.

Representatives of a nonprofit working on behalf of the city were spotted at the scene. The name of the organization was not specified.

Representatives of the organization said the migrants would be taken to a safe location where they would receive a hot meal and a shower, and spend the night. 

The migrants were also to be provided with health screenings and offered COVID-19 vaccination and emergency housing, along with additional legal resettlement help, the state said.

Some of the migrants also reported had not eaten in some time and asked our crew if they had any food.

The migrants then got on a Chicago Transit Authority bus that was pulled out of regular service. It was not clear whether all or only some of the migrants were taken to the Salvation Army Freedom Center afterward.

A few migrants said they had family in Chicago who would be picking them up.

One man from Venezuela said it took two months to get to the border.

"There are kids, there are pregnant women, and it's a very tough pass through Central America," he said. "We just crossed the border from Mexico yesterday and we got onto a bus from Texas, and they said that we were going to Chicago and someone was expecting us here," said Williams Mijares. 

Mijares says it took him about 20 days to get to Texas before he learned he wouldn't be staying there. 

Abbott's practice of sending migrants to sanctuary cities has already drawn plenty of consternation and controversy.

In New York City, the policy has severely taxed New York City services, as officials struggle to find housing, food, and clothing for the new arrivals, CBS 2 New York reported.

Meanwhile, New York City Commissioner of Immigrant Affairs Manuel Castro claimed last week that a bus of migrants had been sent to New York from Texas wearing wristbands that appear to be intended to keep track of them.

Abbott and New York City Mayor Eric Adams have been engaged in a war of words – which reached a new crescendo last week when Abbott published an essay in the New York Post, accusing Adams of hypocrisy for asking Texas not to send any more buses.

"Adams talked the talk about being a sanctuary city, welcoming illegal immigrants into the Big Apple with warm hospitality," Abbott wrote. "Talk is cheap. When pressed into fulfilling such ill-considered policies, he wants to condemn anyone who is pressing him to walk the walk."

"Someone get this man a dictionary," responded an Adams spokesman. "Hypocrisy is claiming you love America and then decrying the words on the Statue of Liberty. To be clear, Mayor Adams and New York City will continue to welcome asylum seekers with open arms. These individuals and families have been through hell, and they deserve more than being used as political pawns by a governor who cares about nothing more than re-election."

In:
• Greg Abbott
• Texas
• Migrants
• Union Station