State senator: Pritzker ‘gaslighting’ Illinoisans he says engage in
migrant ‘hysteria'
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 [April 25, 2024]
By Greg Bishop | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – While Gov. J.B. Pritzker contends southern states
are creating chaos by sending non-citizen migrants to Illinois, a
Republican state senator says Pritzker is “gaslighting” taxpayers.
Pritzker was asked Monday about the ongoing migrant crisis. He said the
problem is leaders in Texas sending migrants to the state unannounced.
“Why do they do that? Because they want to cause chaos,” Pritzker said
at an unrelated news conference. “We have managed to reign it in so that
it’s not chaos.”
State Sen. Jason Plummer, R-Edwardsville, responded Wednesday, saying
the state’s policies of not enforcing federal immigration law, offering
taxpayer subsidized “Cadillac” health care and other services make
Illinois the largest magnet for non-citizen migrants in the country.
“Why are they in places like this? Because we’ve invited them,” Plummer
told The Center Square. “To pretend that there’s any rhyme or reason or
structure or organization is the governor just once again gaslighting
the people of Illinois.”
Plummer said some estimates are taxpayers are on the hook for upwards of
$2 billion in costs for migrant services. He also raised concerns about
the humanitarian impact from people being trafficked, raped and abused
and the continued flood of fentanyl into the country.
Pritzker said there’s “hysteria” on social media and that moving
non-citizens from Chicago to other parts of the state “isn’t happening,
hasn’t happened and is not going to happen.”
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Texas Military Department Soldiers, Airmen, and State Guardsmen
guard the Texas-Mexico border as part of Operation Lonestar. The
Texas Military Department is working with other Texas agencies to
deter illegal entry and stop the trafficking of illicit substances
into the United States. - Sgt. Jason Archer | Texas National Guard
Photo
“Our goal here is to help people get to their hearings, to get
determined whether they actually can have legal asylum and stay in
the United States or be deported by that hearing.”
Such hearings could be scheduled up to seven years in the future.
Plummer said Illinois’ policies are not always attracting people to
Illinois “to do good.”
“Now we see gangs from Venezuela and these other places that are
organized criminal groups that are taking advantage of this
governor’s soft on crime policies to victimize Illinoisans,” Plummer
said.
The human tragedy stemming from the “political calculation” of
Democrats across the country, Plummer said, is “evil and disgusting”
and there needs to be leadership to better address the issue.
“In addition to not being able to afford it, we’re raising taxes on
Illinoisans and we’re taking services away from Illinoisans to
support folks that this governor invited to this state,” Plummer
said.
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