Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott confirmed that the state will begin flying migrants to Chicago, claiming that the sanctuary city was “obstructing and targeting” Texas’ “busing mission,” a post on social media showed.
Abbott posted a video to Twitter on Wednesday showing what appeared to be migrants exiting buses and boarding a plane. Abbott called out the city of Chicago for restricting Abbott’s policy of busing illegal migrants to the sanctuary city. (RELATED: Border Patrol Surpasses 23,000 Migrants In Custody, Releases Thousands Into The Country With Court Dates)
The Texas governor also emphasized that the state will continue to provide “overwhelmed” border towns with “much-needed relief” and blamed President Joe Biden for ongoing flood of migrants.
“Sanctuary city Chicago started obstructing and targeting our busing mission. Texas will now expand our operation to include flights to Chicago,” Abbott wrote. “Until Biden steps up to secure the border, we will continue to provide overwhelmed Texas border towns with much-needed relief.”
Sanctuary city Chicago started obstructing and targeting our busing mission.
Texas will now expand our operation to include flights to Chicago.
Until Biden steps up to secure the border, we will continue to provide overwhelmed Texas border towns with much-needed relief. pic.twitter.com/kRoK8KBpJ2
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) December 20, 2023
The private plane chartered by the Texas Department of Emergency Management reportedly carried about 100 migrants to O’Hare International Airport on Tuesday, according to WGNTV. (RELATED: ACLU Sues Over New Texas Law Allowing State Authorities To Arrest Migrants For Illegal Entry)
Abbott had taken to social media early Wednesday, explaining that the state has “bused over 82,900 migrants to sanctuary cities,” with over 24,500 of them heading to Chicago. Democratic Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson complained Monday that Texas’ busing program was causing “chaos” all over the country, according to Fox News.
Johnson previously passed an ordinance to impound and tow migrant buses that were violating new restrictions, forcing buses to only offload migrants within the designated areas of the city. The new restrictions from the mayor came after claims that Abbott’s buses had attempted to disregard former regulations in November by dropping migrants off in random places throughout the city.
The Texas governor’s office responded with a statement accusing Johnson of betraying his own values, WGNTV reported.
“Because Mayor Johnson is failing to live up to his city’s ‘Welcoming City’ ordinance by targeting migrant buses from Texas, we are expanding our operation to include flights to Chicago, like the Biden Administration has been doing across the country,” Abbott’s office said, according to WGNTV. “Governor Abbott launched the border bus mission in April 2022 to provide support to our overrun and overwhelmed border communities, as the Biden Administration leaves thousands of migrants in their towns.”