from
https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/03/politics/white-house-chicago-migrant-crisis-tension/index.html

Tensions flare between Chicago and White House over migrant crisis
Edward-Isaac Dovere Priscilla Alvarez
By Edward-Isaac Dovere and Priscilla Alvarez, CNN
Updated 8:28 AM EDT, Tue October 3, 2023

The North Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on November 18, 2022.
Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images
CNN
—
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson confronted
top White House officials late Sunday, demanding they take fast and
concrete steps to address a migrant crisis they believe is about to
reach a breaking point in the Windy City, according to two people on the
call.

On a conference call they pushed for on short notice, the two Democratic
leaders and aides laid out concerns about Texas Republican Gov. Greg
Abbott ramping up the number of buses bringing migrants to the city,
arguing that it could double the number of migrants there – currently
more than 17,000 – just as temperatures begin to drop in a city famous
for its harsh winters.

White House intergovernmental affairs director Tom Perez, who was on the
call along with White House chief of staff Jeff Zients, urged Chicago to
follow the “best practices” put in place in New York, where new efforts
have launched to try to help migrants obtain work permits. But that did
little to quell concerns held by Pritzker and Johnson, who also observed
New York City and state officials grapple with the arrival of thousands
of migrants.

Migrants, who were stranded a day earlier near Villa Ahumada, and who
are seeking asylum in the United States, cross the Rio Bravo river, as
seen from Ciudad Juarez , Mexico September 30, 2023. REUTERS/Jose Luis
Gonzalez

Unlawful border crossings hit high for the year with over 200,000
apprehensions in September

On Monday, Pritzker sent a letter addressed to President Joe Biden
demanding that the federal government take over a coordinated response
at the border, according to a copy obtained by CNN.

The White House has come under increasing criticism from local officials
across the country over the growing number of migrants at the US-Mexico
border, stressing relationships with Democratic allies nationwide. Now,
the feud over the migrant crisis is drawing in a governor who is a major
political ally of the president and has been one of the most active
boosters of his reelection campaign.

It’s also bubbling up in a city that will host next year’s Democratic
convention – an event that people involved already believe will be a
magnet for even more migrants to be sent to the city by Republican
governors.

“That sort of pace is unsustainable for us even a week from now,” said
one person close to the Pritzker administration. “They need to know we
are at a breaking point.”

Johnson did not sign the letter but was briefed on its contents and is
supportive of the effort. In a mark of how frustrated Johnson was with
the White House position, he had his own one-on-one follow-up call with
Perez to stress the need for the federal government to do more – and
finished that conversation not feeling that help was coming, according
to a person briefed.

A White House aide confirmed the Sunday call but referred to it as “a
productive conversation” that is part of ongoing engagement, including
$46 million in grants to Chicago and to Illinois to support migrants who
have arrived.

The aide cited the administration’s extensive efforts to increase border
enforcement and expand work authorizations for those who have arrived,
as well as 253,000 people who have been returned to 152 countries since
May 12 – compared to 180,000 removed during the same period in 2019,
under the Trump administration.

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 04: U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro
Mayorkas testifies before a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on
Homeland Security, on Capitol Hill on May 04, 2022 in Washington, DC.
Mayorkas addressed the budget request for fiscal year 2023 for the
Department of Homeland Security.

Homeland Security secretary warns migrants against dangerous border
journey after smuggling incident leaves 53 dead
“Without the help of Congress, the administration has been taking
action,” said White House spokesperson Angelo Fernández Hernández.
“Meanwhile, House Republicans continue to block the reform the
immigration system needs and the $4 billion we requested to address the
immediate needs of DHS to safely and humanely manage the Southwest
Border and support communities across the country. We will continue to
work closely with Illinois and states and cities across the country.”

Chicago saw a record number of migrant buses arrive last week, said
Beatriz Ponce de Leon, the Deputy Mayor of Immigrant, Migrant and
Refugee Rights. More than 2,900 migrants are living on the floors of
police stations and Chicago’s airports awaiting placement in shelters.

The White House has grown increasingly worried about Chicago, realizing
the expected influx of migrants in the city, according to a source
familiar with discussions. Late last month, Perez met with Johnson over
an hour to discuss the ongoing migrant situation in Chicago, according
to sources familiar with the meeting.

Jason Lee, a senior adviser to the mayor, told CNN that he feels the top
aides in the White House do understand the level of crisis that Chicago
is facing – and “we’re trying to figure out what are the ways we can
work with the White House and the executive branch – knowing that it’s
not sufficient, but we don’t want to turn away or miss support that is
there.”

“It’s a fact that the federal government, from a resources standpoint
has not matched us dollar for dollar – they’ve provided some funding,
but not enough for what we’re dealing with,” Lee said.

The uptick in arrivals to cities in the US is tied to an increase in
border crossings. Border Patrol apprehended more than 200,000 migrants
crossing the US-Mexico border unlawfully in September, according to a
Homeland Security official, marking the highest total this year and
underscoring the ongoing challenges for the Biden administration amid
mass migration in the region.

Migrants apprehended at the border can be placed in a fast-track
deportation process, voluntarily return to Mexico, be detained, or be
released from custody as they go through their immigration proceedings.

Venezuelans make up a large share of border crossings and the US
generally can’t deport them because of frosty diplomatic relations with
Venezuela. Mexico has agreed to take some, but it remains a complicated
– and unique – challenge for the administration and for cities receiving
them.

A group of migrants are waiting on the US side of the Rio Grande as the
Texas National Guard blocked access to parts of the border with barbed
wire and vehicles, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on December 20, 2022.
This is what the crisis along the US border looks like
Abbott has also not coordinated with cities and states when busing
migrants to destinations out of Texas, making it more difficult for
those receiving migrants and prompting calls for the federal government
to get involved.

“A single office with an identified leader must be assigned to work for
the cities and states across the silos of government to manage the
challenges we all face,” Pritzker wrote in his letter to the White House.

Pritzker argued this is about a city and state that have been left to
fend for themselves, not trying to drum up anti-immigrant sentiment.

“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,” Pritzker wrote in the letter.

“Unfortunately, the welcome and aid Illinois has been providing to these
asylum seekers has not been matched with support by the federal
government. Most critically, the federal government’s lack of
intervention and coordination at the border has created an untenable
situation for Illinois,” he added.

“We’re running out of money – quickly,” added the person close to the
Pritzker administration. “What we’ve gotten so far is Band-Aids – we
need to stem the tide of the problem.”

The Department of Homeland Security has distributed millions of dollars
to communities receiving migrants. Last week, the department announced
an additional $12 million in funding, recognizing the financial strain
on cities.

“SSP grants have provided critical support to communities receiving
migrants and the need for this support is ongoing,” Homeland Security
Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement, referring to the
funding through the Shelter and Services Program.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, has continued to be highly
critical, even with the administration approving one change he sought
that eases the ability of Venezuelan nationals to get work permits.

He is headed to Latin America this week to call more attention to the
crisis, and one of his closest advisers in City Hall, Ingrid
Lewis-Martin, said in an interview with local New York television
station WPIX over the weekend: “We need the federal government, the
Congress, the Senate and the president to do their job, close the borders.”