Chicago’s sanctuary city status, along with the rhetoric from its mayor, has made the city a mecca for migrants. Some Southern governors have treated this as an open invitation to transport migrants to the city. [Chicago Tribune] 

More than 20,000 migrants have come to Chicago in the past 14 months, the Tribune recently reported. It has been left for Chicago to bear the brunt of the new arrivals to the state. In addition to Chicago’s self-designation as a sanctuary city, the 2017 Illinois TRUST Act made the state a sanctuary state and was amended in August 2021 to expand protections and, according to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s own description, further establish Illinois as the “most welcoming state in the nation.”

Despite this status, the state has done little to regulate the influx of immigrants or where they end up, resulting in the city bearing the brunt. What can the state do to address this crisis?

More> 

###