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Democratic mayors in Chicago and Denver are blaming Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) for the “chaos” surrounding the influx of immigrants to their cities, calling for “better coordination” to address the issue.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said in a Sunday interview with CBS News’s Face the Nation that local governments are feeling the pressure of the crisis at the southern border as Abbott continues to bus thousands of migrants to cities across the United States.
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“What we have is clearly, clearly an international and federal crisis that local governments are being asked to subsidize and this is unsustainable. None of our local economies are positioned to be able to carry on such a mission,” Johnson said.
“Unfortunately, the governor of Texas, Governor Abbott, is determined to continue to sow seeds of chaos. And last night, and several nights before, a number of buses continue to arrive in the city of Chicago, throughout the country, without any coordination,” the Chicago mayor added.
More than 14,000 migrants are living in 27 city shelters in Chicago, with over 26,000 immigrants having arrived in the Windy City since August 2022. In Denver, over 35,000 immigrants have arrived within the last year.
The buses “that are being dropped off across this country in the middle of the night, leaving people with no real support at all, no coordination with the local municipalities — that type of chaos is certainly dividing our country, and we need better coordination between all levels of government to be able to respond to this mission,” Johnson said.
Johnston, the Denver mayor, said he is pushing for a system that is humanitarian for both the “new folks that are arriving” and city residents and employees.
“What we don’t want is people arriving at two o’clock in the morning at a city and county building with women and children outside in 10-degree weather and no support,” Johnston said.
“We understand the flow is coming. We just want it to be coordinated and in a humanitarian way which we think makes it effective for the city and for those newcomers,” the Denver mayor added when asked about Denver looking to impose bus restrictions similar to those in Chicago and New York City.
Both Johnson and Johnston said they have communicated to the White House about what their cities need to handle the influx of migrants, with the Denver mayor stating that he thinks this is a “solvable problem.”
“We need federal dollars to help support our work here in the cities. We also need federal dollars for more support at the border, the ability to adjudicate asylum claims more quickly so they can be done in 90 days and not in four to six years — that makes a massive difference,” Johnston said.
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Johnston added that having the resources to expedite work authorization so cities can put migrants to work, “which is what they want,” would be a better option for cities now bearing the brunt of the influx.
Cities need “a coordinated entry plan where it’s not just the governor of Texas deciding what cities to send people to, but it’s actually the way we’ve welcomed asylees in this country for years,” the Denver mayor said.
Original Location: Democratic mayors blame Greg Abbott for immigration ‘chaos’ in cities
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