Colorado Gov. Jared Polis’s office said Saturday that the state will halt sending busloads of illegal immigrants to Chicago and New York City, a move that triggered outcry from the two cities’ Democratic mayors.
Polis, a Democrat, announced on Tuesday that the state government would step in to make sure illegal immigrants who recently arrived in Denver safely reach Chicago and New York City by bus, saying that most of those individuals don’t consider Colorado their “desired final destination.” It didn’t take until Saturday for him to cease that plan.
According to the governor’s office, Polis decided to reverse course after discussing the matter with his fellow Democrats who run those “sanctuary” and “welcoming” cities.
“The Governor had a very productive conversation with Mayor Adams and Mayor Lightfoot today where he shared that there are no more buses scheduled for migrants from Denver to Chicago at this time, and the final chartered transportation to New York City will be successfully completed tomorrow,” a press release from Polis’s office read.
“Now that nationwide travel has returned to the status quo because the holidays and the impact of weather have normalized transportation pathways, Colorado has been in the process of scaling back this transportation,” the statement added.
Saturday’s decision comes after Lightfoot and Adams, whose cities have been overwhelmed with an influx of tens of thousands of illegal immigrants since the spring of 2022, asked Polis in an open letter to not add more to their burden. Many of those illegal immigrants crossed the U.S.-Mexico border into Texas before voluntarily accepting a one-way bus ticket to Democrat-run metros.
Chicago, according to the letter, has “welcomed 3,854 migrants bused to its city from Texas” since the end of August 2022. Meanwhile, New York City’s emergency shelter system is struggling to serve an estimated 36,400 “asylum seekers,” a spiraling crisis that the city plans to spend $1 billion to address.
“You must stop busing migrants to Chicago and New York City,” the mayors wrote. “These actions do not live up to the values of a proclaimed welcoming state and should stop immediately.”
Denver Declares State of Emergency
In December, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock declared a state of emergency in response to a dramatic influx of illegal immigrants being dropped off in the city.
“Let me be frank: This influx of migrants, the unanticipated nature of their arrival, and our current space and staffing challenges have put an immense strain on city resources to the level where they’re on the verge of reaching a breaking point at this time,” Hancock said at a Dec. 15 press conference.
According to the mayor’s office, more than 900 illegal immigrants arrived in Denver over several months, including more than 600 since Dec. 2. The sheltering effort has already cost the city more than $800,000, and that amount is expected to “increase significantly.”
Republican Bus Programs Continue
The past year has seen Republican governors of Texas and Arizona busing at least 18,000 of those who illegally entered their states to “sanctuary” and “welcoming” cities around the country.
According to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, the Lone Star State has sent more than 9,100 illegal immigrants to Washington, more than 4,900 to New York City, more than 1,500 to Chicago, and more than 840 to Philadelphia. This include three busloads of people who were dropped off near the residence of Vice President Kamala Harris on Christmas Eve.
While the White House criticized the bus initiatives as “cruel” and “shameful,” Abbott responded by saying that the Biden administration’s flawed border policies is to blame for the crisis that border communities have had to face for years.
“These communities and the state are ill-equipped to do the job assigned to the federal government—house the thousands of migrants flooding into the country every day. With perilous temperatures moving into the area, many of these migrants are at risk of freezing to death on city streets,” Abbott said in an open letter.
“The need to address this crisis is not the job of border states like Texas. Instead, the U.S. Constitution dictates that it is your job, Mr. President, to defend the borders of our country, regulate our nation’s immigration, and manage those who seek refuge here.”
Bill Pan is a reporter for The Epoch Times.
