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Pritzker urgently appeals to Biden for assistance in migrant crisis
Governor JB Pritzker is making a plea to President Joe Biden to help with the migrant crisis. In addition to more funding, the governor is asking the federal government to take over the bussing of migrants to northern cities.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is making a plea to President Joe Biden as the migrant crisis in the state continues to intensify.
In a public letter to the president, Pritzker calls for more support as the state works to find housing for asylum seekers who are arriving in Illinois every week.
"In the 13 months since the first bus of asylum seekers arrived in Illinois from the border, our state has undertaken an unprecedented humanitarian response to the arrival of now over 15,000 people. Governors and mayors from border states have shipped people to our state like cargo in a dehumanizing attempt to score political points. The people of Illinois are kind and generous. We believe in the fundamental right of every human, especially those facing persecution, to find refuge and live with dignity in this great country of ours. But as the numbers being transported to Chicago are accelerating, the humanitarian crisis is overwhelming our ability to provide aid to the refugee population," Pritzker wrote in the letter to Biden.
Pritzker says that the aid and help Illinois has been providing to the migrants has not been matched with federal support.
"The federal government's lack of intervention and coordination at the border has created an untenable situation for Illinois," Pritzker wrote. "On top of the 15,000 that have arrived in Chicago and Illinois over the last 13 months, we are now seeing busloads more migrants at increasingly higher rates being sent specifically to Chicago each day. Our state government has been forced to dedicate over $330 million to provide humanitarian aid — and that amount is increasing each day."
Due to the massive amount of migrants coming into Chicago, many refugees are now sleeping in police stations and sidewalks, which Pritzker says cannot be maintained.
"This situation is untenable and requires your immediate help beyond the coming work authorizations for some of the asylum seekers. There is much more that can and must be done on a federal level to address a national humanitarian crisis that is currently being shouldered by state and local governments without support," said Pritzker.
Pritzker also suggested to Biden that there should be a single person in the federal government who can lead the efforts at the border. He stated that there are too many different federal contacts that do not coordinate with one another.
"As just one state in our union, we cannot lead coordination efforts at the border. It is time for the federal government to take a much more active role in managing the transport and destination of the transport of asylum seekers. Our nation is large and resourceful. Allowing just one state to lay the burden upon a certain few states run by Democrats is untenable," said Pritzker.
Additionally, the governor laid out a list of specific requests that he wants Biden to address immediately, including:
- Waiving fees for TPS applications
- Significantly increasing in logistical coordination and data collection
- Providing financial support to states, local governments, and NGOs for temporary housing, food and social services.
- Accelerate the timeline for employment authorization
- Approve Illinois’ requests for Medicaid waivers, housing vouchers, and federal coordination and support
The full letter can be found below: