Mayors from the “sanctuary cities” of New York City, Chicago and Washington, D.C. are calling for federal assistance to deal with the estimated 11,000 migrants bused into their cities from Texas and Arizona.
SO WHAT
These cities are getting just a small taste of what states on the Southwest Border are forced to deal with.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
Democratic city officials are sounding the alarm over small but growing numbers of migrants arriving from Texas and Arizona, whose Republican governors are sending the migrants to the self-styled “sanctuary cities” because they say their states are overwhelmed.
“The governors of Texas and Arizona have turned us into a border town,” Washington, D.C. council member Brianne Nadeau noted in a press conference Thursday, asking for federal help to manage the influx.
- In June 2019 Nadeau emphasized: “The District is a sanctuary city, which means our law enforcement does not cooperate with ICE.”
- Nadeau echoed demands from Mayor Muriel Bowser, as well as New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, all of whom previously instructed local law enforcement not to cooperate with federal immigration officials in apprehending illegal immigrants.
1. WASHINGTON, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said the city needs federal help to manage around 350 migrants who have chosen to stay in the city out of the total 9,400 bused there so far.
- Then: “We celebrate our diversity and respect all DC residents no matter their immigration status. We are a sanctuary city… we are no more dependent on the federal government than any state.” — Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, November 2016
- Now: “We continue to be very focused on having the federal government do its part and take the lead in what we see as a growing humanitarian crisis with people who are seeking asylum… The number of people crossing the border, seeking asylum, we expect only to go up and we need to make sure there is a national response.” — Washington D.C. Muriel Bowser, July 2022
2. NEW YORK CITY Mayor Eric Adams said the arrival of around 3,000 asylum seekers in the city of over eight million represents an “unprecedented surge,” requiring federal assistance.
- Then: “An Adams Administration will lift up immigrants as high as Lady Liberty lifts her torch in our harbor, as a beacon of hope for all who come to our shores… We will also severely restrict cooperation between the NYPD and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)…” — Mayor Eric Adams, June 2021
- Now: “You are finding people from all over the globe that are coming here, coming to the borders, using the borders to come across… We do need help from the federal government through FEMA to assist us. This city was already dealing with a shelter population, and we are going to need help to deal with this unprecedented surge that we are experiencing right now.” — Mayor Eric Adams, July 2022
3. CHICAGO Mayor Lori Lightfoot called Abbott’s actions “racist,” “xenophobic,” “inhumane” and “unpatriotic,” while demanding help from the federal government to deal with around 125 migrants bused from the border, with more expected soon.
- Then: “CPD will not cooperate with or facilitate any ICE enforcement actions… Chicago will always be a welcoming city and a champion for the rights of our immigrant and refugee communities.” — Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, July 2019
- Now: “Ultimately what I’d like to see is an orderly process… supported and coordinated by the federal government so we’re not seeing what we’re seeing now, which is the potential for chaos if cities are not ready.” — Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, September 2022
THE NUMBERS
Illegal migrants who have arrived this year equal 2% of the combined populations of Texas and Arizona, while the total number of migrants bused to Washington, D.C., New York City and Chicago represent around 0.09% of those cities’ combined populations — a 20-fold difference.
KICKER
Contrary to Bowser’s claim that the migrants were “tricked” and Lightfoot’s claim that they were treated as “cargo,” many expressed gratitude for the free transportation to their destination cities.
- “We are very happy to be in Chicago, which was our destined city,” one unnamed migrant told a local news reporter in Chicago. “We are going to follow legal protocols, my wife is a professional and we are trying to see if we can create a future here.”
- “I am very thankful to the governor,” Reydel Grau, a Cuban migrant, told the New York Times of Abbott’s busing program. “His help is very much welcomed.”