CNN’s Poppy Harlow asked Democratic Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson point-blank Wednesday whether he is being ignored by the Biden Administration when it comes to the migrant crisis.
Harlow asked whether Johnson feels like “Chicago is being ignored on this front from the federal government?”
“Well, since taking office a little bit over seven months ago, my administration has responded to this humanitarian mission with the full force of government. We have roughly 15,000 people living in shelters, temporary shelters here in Chicago, nearly 27 shelters total, 4,500 children in our Chicago Public Schools system, providing health care, and also making sure that we are screening individuals as they come through the city of Chicago, providing, again, onsite vaccinations at all of our shelters,” Johnson said. (RELATED: Chicago Suburb Declares Emergency After Arrival Of Roughly 100 Migrants)
“And this certainly has been a remarkable challenge that my administration has had to face, and quite frankly, a challenge that we are experiencing all over the country. But let me just say this and make this very clear, what I’ve said repeatedly is that we have to have coordination. Since taking office we’ve had an uncoordinated approach and what I’ve worked to do instead of having chaos is provide some structure and calm around this situation, and without significant federal support, this is not sustainable.”
Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has sent migrants to major cities like New York City and Chicago as the border becomes overwhelmed. Chicago has received more than 26,000 migrants in 2023, according to NPR. The city’s resources have been stretched thin, with police stations even being cleared to make room for migrants. Residents have taken a stand against the never-ending flow, protesting new housing developments being built for migrants in October.
Johnson also spoke out against Abbott just before Christmas after a plane full of migrants was sent to the city.
Illinois is a sanctuary state.