‘The President Needs To Do More’: Dem Gov Lashes Out Over Illegal Immigrants In His State

 Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker lashed out Sunday over illegal immigrants in his state while on ABC’s “The Week.”

Pritzker attacked Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for sending undocumented migrants to Democratic cities and said in an interview with John Karl that “[n]ot enough has been done, there’s no doubt about that. And I think that the president needs to do more, the Congress needs to do more.”

Abbott confirmed that his state began flying migrants to Chicago in December 2023, claiming that the sanctuary city was “obstructing and targeting” Texas’ “busing mission.” Democratic Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson had similar complaints as the Illinois governor, stating that the thousands of migrants entering the state was causing “chaos” and overwhelming the city. 

“Cities out here that are the target of this political game that Abbott is playing are suffering. And here in Illinois, it’s minus 29 degrees outside with a wind chill,” Pritzker said. “We have migrants that arrive from Texas virtually every day. Hundreds, and we don’t have places to put them. We don’t have enough shelter space here.”

“There are plenty of other cities where, you know, if he’s gonna send people, they could be sent,” Pritzker said. “But no, he’s choosing only Democratic states, Democratic cities.”

Other states have pushed back at the Texas governor’s transportation of illegal immigrants to blue states and cities. Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy sent a letter to the bus companies used by Abbott to send migrants to his state, seeking to restrict new arrivals.