“Untenable” Immigrant Crisis Created by Democrats

Written by David E. Smith

Democrat Governor JB Pritzker recently sent a three-page letter to Democrat President Joe Biden complaining about the so-called “asylum seekers” and “refugees” being bussed to Chicago from Texas. However, the majority of immigrants breaking our federal laws are not refugees seeking asylum. Most are impoverished foreigners who are seeking the American dream and job opportunities.

And with our open border, who could blame them?

The U.S. already has a generous immigration policy to assimilate good people from around the world. Some argue that this policy should be reviewed and adjusted to accommodate higher numbers of immigrants. Reasonable people should be able to debate the pros and cons of such a change. However, disregarding the official process that has been established by Congress is foolish, dangerous, and illegal. To that point, the Biden Administration has openly defied that process since day one.

In his letter, Pritzker complains that federal financial aid (i.e. your tax dollars) hasn’t kept up with the accelerating crisis that is now flooding Illinois. This, of course, is a direct result of Democratic policies that have ignored federal immigration laws and intentionally aided and abetted those breaking our laws. Pritzker rightly points out that the situation is “untenable.”

Many of these immigrants are sleeping in police stations, airports, and temporary shelters. Chicago bureaucrats are scrambling to find resources to provide food, clothing, and medical care — putting a greater strain on city services and resources that are already limited.

Instead of enforcing border security and accelerating the legal immigration process, Democrats are spending gobs of taxpayer dollars to provide food and shelter to tens of thousands of future voters immigrants who have recently arrived in our state. Government officials are now creating high-volume “temporary” shelters in neighborhoods across the City of Chicago in advance of winter. They plan to export this foolishness to the suburbs because Chicago residents and business owners are getting very upset.

Violent altercations, criminal activities, and lewd behavior at these “family” shelters are being reported by the Chicago Tribune. According to a CWB Chicago article, Chicago Alderman Brian Hopkins claims the problems include,

…but are not limited to, narcotics sales, prostitution, consumption of alcohol on the public way, theft from local businesses, unlicensed street vendors, aggressive panhandling, and loitering on the public way to the point of blocking passage of pedestrians.

More trouble for an already deeply troubled city.

Strained and Stretched

In his letter to the President, Pritzker also acknowledges that “this crisis has strained the already stretched human services network.” He points out:

“Our Nation is large and resourceful. Allowing just one state to lay the burden upon a certain few states run by Democrats is untenable.”

While Democrats continue to parrot the “we are a Welcoming City” mantra, taxpayers are expected to dig deeper into their pocketbooks and work harder and longer hours in order to pay for billionaire Pritzker’s generosity to those future voters immigrants intentionally skirting the U.S. immigration process.

It is also important to note that in his letter begging for federal help, Pritzker uses the word “untenable” four times to describe this crisis. Untenable is defined as “incapable of being defended; indefensible.” It is also defined as “incapable of being sustained or maintained over time.”

Well, of course, it’s untenable. According to USA Today, about 2.2 million people have been apprehended at the border this year through August 2023 alone, surpassing the 2022 numbers of 2.8 million for the entire year. The levels have risen to about 8,000 per day. And it’s expected to get worse.

At least Pritzker acknowledges that this situation is a burden to taxpayers:

We are a nation that has welcomed immigrants and refugees since our founding, and we have done so in a bipartisan manner. It cannot be that just a few cities and states should now bear the cost of this effort alone.

In other words, this “untenable” crisis created by Democrat policies will require bigger government and more federal tax dollars. Now that the crisis they have fostered is blowing up and growing out of control, they demand to take advantage of the situation by growing the authority and powers of the state. In the final paragraph of Pritzker’s letter, he admits:

Today, Illinois stands mostly unsupported against this enormous strain on our state resources.

Yes, it is an enormous strain that should have never been allowed to develop. Even now, hundreds of thousands of future voters immigrants are crossing the southern border without even a health check, let alone a criminal background check. Five times Pritzker uses the term “humanitarian” to describe the crisis that is developing in Illinois. But how and why are we experiencing this serious humanitarian problem? Because the borders remain wide open and unsecured.

Make no mistake, this is being done intentionally.

“Never let a crisis go to waste,” said former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Sadly, we’re seeing the embodiment of his cynical approach right now. The ends justify the means…

Meanwhile, Chicago is struggling to find housing for the more than 17,000 migrants who have arrived in Chicago since August 2022 and the thousands more that are coming. In fact, multiple dozens of busloads of new arrivals are expected in Chicago throughout the week and probably throughout the rest of the year.

Democrats want us to believe that big government and more tax resources are the solutions to the problems that their own policies have created. Don’t believe them! They are failing the American people on so many levels, including in upholding their oaths of office.

Pray and Take Action

Please join us in praying that voters clearly see what left-wing Democrats are doing to our state and nation. Pray with us that voters understand how to respond at election time next year. In the meantime, please speak out to let our representatives in DC know that their open border policy is “untenable.”

Take ACTION: Click HERE to send a message to Congress and the White House to demand that they take action to secure and close the southern border. Urge them to pass the Secure the Borders Act (H.R. 2), in order to stop the influx of future voters immigrants, criminals, potential terrorists, and deadly drugs and to specifically:

• end policies relating to the “catch and release” of illegal immigrants into the United States;
• build a physical barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border;
• mandate that Homeland Security deport aliens who have been convicted or charged with any criminal offense.

The Secure the Border Act (H.R. 2) passed the U.S. House on May 11, 2023 and is pending in the U.S. Senate. If enacted, it would:

1.      Require the Department of Homeland Security to resume border wall construction.

2.      Increase the number of Border Patrol Agents.

3.      Tighten asylum standards by restricting asylum to only aliens who present at ports of entry and by requiring aliens to prove they are “more likely than not” to qualify for their asylum claim.

4.      Narrow DHS’s power to unilaterally grant parole to illegal aliens.

5.      Criminalize visa overstays by making the first offense a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $1,000 fine and the second offense a felony punishable by up to a $2,000 fine and up to two years imprisonment.

6.      Stop NGOs from using tax dollars to transport or lodge illegal aliens and provide illegal aliens with lawyers.

7.      Restrict DHS from using its CBP One app to welcome illegal aliens into the country.

8.      Require employers to use E-Verify.

9.      Ensure CBP has access to the criminal history databases of all countries of origin and transit so that CBP is aware of the criminal history of illegal aliens encountered at the southern border.