The next time you read or hear news about Chicago’s “migrant crisis,” remember this: A failure of leadership, especially at the federal level, is to blame.
Over the last two decades, Congress has repeatedly failed to reform our nation’s antiquated immigration policies. That leaves state and local governments to come up with their own patchwork policies — which, in turn, allows Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to take the draconian step of busing thousands of migrants to Chicago and other cities in an effort to score political points with the anti-immigration crowd.
The federal government must step in with more funding and resources for Chicago and other cities that can barely cope, including those in Texas. Though his solution is abhorrent, Abbott’s frustration is understandable. Texas should not have to carry so much of the burden. No single state should.
Immigration is a national issue. Solutions must come at the national level.
State and local officials have to show leadership too. Abbott failed utterly on this when he began busing asylum seekers with no notice to, or coordination with, city and state leaders. So far, 11,500 have arrived.
Abbott’s cultural and political war succeeded in creating chaos. Last week, Ald. Ray Lopez (15th) said in a letter to Mayor Brandon Johnson that residents near the Gage Park field house, where 277 migrants are being housed, are “reaching a boiling point” with concerns about drug use and sales, prostitution and gang recruitment.
And at a hearing on Wednesday, Ald. Jeanette Taylor (20th) and downtown Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) expressed similar frustrations. Reilly said some migrants have acquired guns.
To be clear, most of the 5,400 asylum seekers still in makeshift shelters aren’t caught up in crime. But desperate people will sometimes resort to crime, and the migrants who arrive here penniless are no exception.
Yet let’s also be clear on this point too: Those who are breaking the law must be held accountable, period.
Here’s where the federal government could make a difference, in part with more manpower: Asylum seekers want to work, but cannot legally do so until they receive a federal work permit, which can now take up to nine months to obtain, as Fred Tsao, senior policy counsel at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, told us.
“We wish there was more federal leadership and more avenues for them to work,” Tsao said.
Workforce needs would be best addressed in an overhaul of the immigration system. Congress hasn’t come close to that since a bipartisan Senate bill in 2013 failed to get a vote in the U.S. House.
Harsh policies, lack of money
In the years since, Republicans have pursued extreme measures to curb immigration, including the Trump administration policy of separating families at the southern border. Recently, Abbott had barbed wire placed along the banks of the Rio Grande River, along with floating barriers to deter crossings. The Justice Department is suing Texas over the barriers, which have injured would-be migrants, and Mexico says Texas is violating treaties between the countries.
President Joe Biden also turned to a heavy-handed — though not at the scale of Abbott’s moves — policy, making it tougher for asylum seekers to apply in person at the border. On Tuesday, a federal judge ruled against the policy, saying it was illegal. The administration is appealing.
It takes money to house migrants, and Chicago — and Illinois — could use more help on that front. Other cities and states are likely in the same boat.
So far, the state has contributed $50 million, according to the city. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has given $14.9 million, a city spokesperson told us. But considering city expenditures were $101.3 million from January to June, that’s not nearly enough.
Until the feds and Congress step up, border states and liberal-leaning cities that continue to receive migrants will bear the brunt of what should be a national issue.
Crime, corruption and poverty in other countries, along with climate change, all but guarantee that immigrants will continue to seek a better life in America — as they have for centuries.
“What’s happening today is the new normal,” as former alderman Ameya Pawar, a board member for the human rights group Heartland Alliance, said of migration.
If history is a guide, 30% of asylum seekers will be granted asylum — which means a large number will remain here. America needs clear, humane and modern policies as they establish lives here.
With U.S. birth rates declining, the entire country stands to benefit from immigration.
That will only happen with the right leadership.
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