As illegal immigrants continue to get bussed from Texas to Democrat-run sanctuary cities as part of Gov. Greg Abbott’s plan to alleviate the Biden border crisis, the meltdowns from the left-wing mayors in those cities get louder and more unhinged, as evidenced by remarks made by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson during a Monday press briefing.
Johnson, whose approval ratings have tanked just six months in, is under fire from residents in the overwhelmingly blue city for displacing citizens in some areas and setting up temporary migrant shelters in others. Tensions boiled over Monday when someone asked Johnson about conditions and medical needs at one migrant shelter, where several children were recently hospitalized and one five-year-old, Jean Carlos Martinez, died.
Here’s some of what he said:
“We have a governor – a governor – an elected official in the state of Texas, that is placing families on buses without shoes, cold, wet, tired, hungry, afraid, traumatized,” Johnson said. “And then they come to the city of Chicago where we have homelessness, we have mental health clinics that have been shut down and closed, you have people who are seeking employment.”He went on to argue, “The governor of Texas needs to take a look in the mirror of the chaos that he is causing for this country. This is not just a Chicago dynamic, he is attacking our country.”
Watch:
As one might imagine, Abbott’s office has responded accordingly to the criticisms:
Abbott’s Press Secretary Andrew Mahaleris told Fox News Digital that Johnson was “flat out lying.””If he truly cared about these migrants, he would stop spreading falsehoods and complaining about a few thousand migrants being bused into his sanctuary city,” he said. “Instead, Mayor Johnson should call on President Biden to take immediate action to secure the border — something the President continues failing to do.”Mahaleris noted that migrants willingly sign a voluntary consent waiver available in various languages upon boarding a bus in which the destination has been agreed to. Each bus is also stocked with food and water and makes stops along the route to refuel and switch drivers, he said.Migrants are also allowed to purchase extra items or disembark at any stop because they were previously processed and released by border authorities, said Mahaleris.
Regarding Martinez’s death, according to CBS2, medical professionals told them they felt his death could have been prevented had they simply been allowed to go inside to treat him:
CBS 2’s Charlie De Mar also spoke Monday with medical volunteers who have treated migrants at shelters since their arrival. They said they tried to get into the Pilsen facility, but were not allowed in – and called the young boy’s death preventable.Mayor Johnson said he knows nothing about that.Meantime, the cause of the 5-year-old boy’s death remains under investigation.
Johnson’s office officials also claim that “there is no evidence of an outbreak at the shelter” in question and say that the Chicago Dept. of Public Health continues to “evaluate the situation.”
As always, stay tuned.
— Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via Twitter. —
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY