Tensions grow between city, state and federal government over influx of
migrants
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[January 27, 2024]
By ANDREW ADAMS
Capitol News Illinois
aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com
CHICAGO – Tensions rose again this week between Gov. JB Pritzker’s
office and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson over how to handle the tens of
thousands of people who have arrived in the state since August 2022 via
buses or planes sent from Texas.
The most recent back-and-forth between the two came in response to the
city’s recent shift in its migrant strategy: away from building new
shelters or even increasing capacity of existing shelters, instead
focusing on getting migrants out of shelters and into other forms of
housing.
The state had previously committed $65 million to building a shelter in
Chicago in November – an effort that has still not come to fruition.
“I’m deeply concerned,” Pritzker said Monday. “We do not have enough
shelter as it is in the city of Chicago. The city has not told the state
where they would like us to put our resources. We can’t help if they
don’t identify those locations.”
Johnson’s administration is gearing up to enforce the city’s 60-day
eviction policy at Chicago’s shelters. Enforcement of that policy was
initially delayed due to dangerously cold weather but is set to go into
effect next week.
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At a news conference on Wednesday, Johnson suggested that the state
build shelters outside of his city.
“The state of Illinois can build a shelter anywhere in the state of
Illinois, the state does not have to build a shelter in Chicago,”
Johnson said.
Johnson also said Wednesday that he did not think his administration was
at odds with Pritzker.
Within city government, Chicago’s shelter policies have drawn criticism.
Thursday, a group of 16 city aldermen penned a letter asking the mayor
to walk back the eviction policy.
“To stand by the decision to impose 60-day limits on shelters without
addressing these systemic issues leaves new arrivals without options for
housing or shelter,” the aldermen wrote. “This situation simply should
not be acceptable.”
Beyond Chicago, Pritzker joined eight other Democratic governors earlier
this week in a letter to President Joe Biden and congressional
leadership asking for more federal coordination of resources to help
migrants.
“While political motivations continue to delay the negotiations, our
economy, states and localities are bearing the brunt of the shortcomings
of the existing immigration system,” the governors wrote. “Therefore, as
you return to Washington to resume work on critical federal funding
measures, we strongly urge Congress and the Administration to quickly
negotiate an agreement on a border security legislative package.”
In addition to Pritzker, the letter was signed by the governors of New
York, Arizona, California, Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey
and New Mexico.
Conflict between the states and the federal government is also coming
from the other side of the political aisle. Earlier this week, the U.S.
Supreme Court ordered Texas officials to allow federal agents to access
the state’s border with Mexico. Texas sued the federal government last
fall after border patrol agents cut razor wire the state had put up, but
the court upheld previous decisions that give the federal government
sole responsibility for border security.
On Wednesday, Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has directed the
busing program that has brought roughly 35,000 migrants to Illinois,
invoked the U.S. Constitution by declaring that the number of migrants
at the southern border constitutes an “invasion” of the country and
referencing states’ “sovereign interest in protecting their borders.”
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![](../images/012724PIX/news_a7.jpg)
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson speaks to reporters in Springfield
during a visit to the Capitol in April 2023, shortly after winning
the Chicago mayoral election. (Capitol News Illinois file photo by
Jerry Nowicki)
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2024/Jan/27/images/ads/current/peasleymemorials_lda_2022.png)
“That authority is the supreme law of the land and supersedes any
federal statutes to the contrary,” Abbott said in a statement. “The
Texas National Guard, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and other
Texas personnel are acting on that authority, as well as state law, to
secure the Texas border.”
This week also saw several state lawmakers offer possible responses to
the influx of migrants.
Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Chicago, penned an op-ed proposing that city and
state policymakers use the fact that Chicago is set to host the
Democratic National Convention as leverage to force federal action on
immigration.
“If the federal government cannot adequately deal with the housing issue
for tenured Chicagoans and our new arrivals, then Chicago and Illinois
should be prepared to rescind the offer to host the DNC,” Buckner wrote
in a piece for the Chicago Tribune.
But backing out of hosting the DNC is unlikely, as contacts with vendors
have already been signed and federal law enforcement agencies are
already setting out their plans for the event.
“The Democratic National Convention provides an unparalleled opportunity
to invest in communities across Chicago,” Natalie Edelstein, a
spokesperson for the host committee said in a statement responding to
Buckner’s proposal.
Edelstein also noted that the host committee is working with city, state
and local partners to “ensure a safe and successful event.”
Buckner is a member of the House of Representatives “New Arrivals
Working Group,” an informal group of lawmakers recently convened by
House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside. That group will likely
be an important part of potential funding discussions for the state’s
migrant response this spring. While the governor’s office is
anticipating a $1.4 billion surplus in the current year which ends June
30, next fiscal year is facing a projected deficit of $891 million.
The state has so far spent or allocated more than $600 million on
programs relating to the recently arrived migrants, according to the
governor’s office, including a $160 million package through the state’s
Department of Human Services announced in November.
Earlier this month, Pritzker said he brought up a potential supplemental
spending plan to legislative leaders in Springfield, but those
conversations have so far yielded no proposals.
Some Republican lawmakers, meanwhile, have asked Welch to hold public
hearings on the migrant situation.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2024/Jan/27/images/ads/current/debbiesfloral_lda_122623.png)
The Illinois Freedom Caucus, a group of conservative Republican state
representatives, said they attempted to tour shelters in Chicago but
were turned away.
While the Monday letter to Welch from Freedom Caucus members
characterized the influx of migrants as an “ongoing illegal immigration
crisis,” many of the people bused to the state from Texas are seeking
asylum which generally means they can legally stay in the U.S.
Rep. Adam Niemerg, R-Dieterich, a member of the Freedom Caucus, said he
and his colleagues hope to engage downstate Illinoisans on the issue.
“Transparency in government at any level is important,” Niemerg said. |