Texas refuses to stop sending migrants to Chicago in extreme cold

(CNN) — Hoping to stem the flow of migrants due to winter weather in Chicago, the Democratic governor of Illinois warned in a letter to his Republican counterpart in Texas on Friday that sending migrants now to “the Windy City” could cost lives, adding to already deadly costs. Migration crisis.

“While action is pending at the federal level, I ask for mercy for the thousands of people who cannot speak for themselves,” wrote Governor JB Pritzker. “Please, winter threatens the lives of vulnerable people, suspend your transit and do not send more people into our state.”

“Your indifference, sending buses and planes full of immigrants in this weather, puts the lives of everyone who arrives now at risk,” he continued. “The health and survival of hundreds of children and families are at risk because of their actions.”

Gov. Greg Abbott’s administration, however, has redoubled its mission starting in 2022 to send migrants north from Texas by bus and plane to Democratic-led cities, including Chicago, New York and Denver, to “support our overstretched and overcrowded population.” of border communities,” his spokesman Andrew Mahalaris told CNN on Friday, “Governor Pritzker was so proud to call Illinois ‘the most welcoming state in the nation’ until Governor Abbott began transporting immigrants to Chicago.”

Chicago’s wind chill is forecast to drop to 32 below zero Tuesday morning — which could cause frostbite on exposed skin in 10 minutes, according to CNN Weather. For those unaccustomed to such bone-chilling cold (including migrants who often arrive with only the clothes on their backs), it can be a life-or-death challenge.

Recently, Chicago’s shelters have been so full that incoming migrants were housed in designated “arrival zones” with minimal access to food and sanitation services and only parked Chicago Transit Authority buses for temporary warmth.

Snow falls on Friday as evacuees stay warm on Chicago city buses. Credit: Erin Hooley/AP

There were about 140 immigrants on those buses, Democratic Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said Friday, down from a peak of more than 300, though as of Sunday there were no immigrants waiting to be placed in shelters in the arrival zone, according to the city.

As to whether the terms there are acceptable, Johnson said, “Look, that’s a good question, you know? “It’s certainly not acceptable for the governor (of Texas) to send people to the city of Chicago, but we evaluate that every moment.”

In recent weeks, the mayors of New York, Chicago and Denver have been angered by the abandonment of thousands of immigrants by “rogue buses” from Texas and have tried in their own jurisdictions to curb the increase by enacting mandates and requirements that bus operators coordinate arrivals. Under threat of sanctions, fines and imprisonment.

Leaders in several Chicago suburbs also voted this month to stop buses from dropping off migrants without warning, while charter buses dropped off in New Jersey to avoid rules preventing migrants from arriving in NY City.

Meanwhile, in New York, starting Tuesday homeless immigrants will be subject to a new 11 a.m. to 6 a.m. curfew at four centers run by the city’s emergency management department, a spokeswoman told CNN on Monday. A spokesman for the city council.

In November, Chicago implemented a 60-day asylum stay policy that was based on arrival dates of migrants to avoid overwhelming the asylum system and to provide services to asylum seekers seeking long-term housing. But because of bad weather, city officials suspended that limit and made some exceptions to the policy, Johnson said Friday.

“Do your job and secure the border”

As for Abbott’s position, “Instead of complaining about immigrants being sent from Texas, where we are preparing to experience severe winter weather across the state, Governor Pritzker should be telling his party leader to finally do his job and secure the border, something he continues to do. Refuse to do so,” his spokesman Mahalaris told CNN in a statement Friday.

“Until President Biden steps up and does his job to secure the border, Texas will continue to evacuate our local partners to sanctuary cities to respond to this crisis created by Biden,” he added.

Heated Chicago Transit Authority buses sit in a migrant landing zone during bitterly cold temperatures Friday. Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images

Over the weekend, Mexican authorities recovered the bodies of three migrants — a woman and two children — who drowned in the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, Texas, the epicenter of a recent migrant crisis and an area where authorities say state agencies in the U.S. Border Patrol from reaching miles of the US-Mexico border, officials said.

Tensions are high between state and federal officials as the White House and lawmakers question Abbott’s policies, including the use of razor wire along the border and a new law criminalizing illegal entry into Texas.

Joe Biden’s administration on Friday announced that the U.S. complained to the Supreme Court about the blocking of a riverside city park by the state Border Patrol and asked the high court to intervene quickly. On Saturday, the state told the high court it was “working expeditiously” to ensure Border Patrol has access to the boat ramp at Shelby Park.

The White House called the recent migrant deaths “tragic” and characterized Abbott’s border directives as a “political stunt,” White House deputy press secretary Angelo Fernandez Hernandez said Sunday.

“As we continue to gather data on the circumstances of these tragic deaths, one thing is clear: Governor Abbott’s political maneuvering is cruel, inhumane and dangerous. The United States Border Patrol must reach the border to enforce our laws,” Fernandez Hernandez said in a statement to CNN.

CNN’s Andy Rose, Rosa Flores, Gloria Pazmino, Whitney Wilde and meteorologist Alison Chincher contributed to this report.