Texas began flying illegal migrants to Democrat "sanctuary cities" as President Joe Biden's border crisis continues to flourish.
This week, the state of Texas flew more than 120 illegal aliens to sanctuary cities, with the first flight from El Paso arriving in Chicago. A Chicago city spokesperson said the Texas Department of Emergency Management chartered the plane.
Gov. Greg Abbott's (R-TX.) office said that all illegal migrants signed waivers as they do when bussed. His office also confirmed that his office has bussed over 82,900 illegal migrants to liberal cities, including Washington, D.C.; New York City; Chicago; Philadelphia; Denver; and Los Angeles. Abbott says his operation provides "vital relief" to border towns, vowing to keep doing it "until [President] Biden secures the border."
More than 26,000 illegal aliens have arrived in Chicago— the United States's third-largest city— since last year. Nearly 1,200 migrants have been camping out at O'Hare Airport as well as several police stations.
Chicago has earmarked nearly $24 million to winterize tents to shelter thousands of illegal migrants who have arrived in the city during the cold months.
However, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has accused Abbott of "lawlessness."
"Clearly, the governor is trying to circumvent the law. And this is lawlessness that he is engaged in right now," Johnson said.
Abbott's press secretary, Andrew Mahaleris, criticized Johnson's comments, telling Fox News Digital that he was "flat out lying."
Recommended
"If he truly cared about these migrants, he would stop spreading falsehoods and complaining about a few thousand migrants being bussed into his sanctuary city," Mahaleris said. "Instead, Mayor Johnson should call on President Biden to take immediate action to secure the border — something the president continues failing to do."
This comes as Customs and Border Protection (CBP) face record numbers of crossings daily, with more than 10,000 illegal migrant encounters each day.
According to CBP sources, in December, total migrant encounters have exceeded 190,000. That number will likely break another record for the highest monthly total, 269,000 in September.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member