Chicago will provide safe haven for migrants bused by Texas Gov. Abbott. ‘They deserve our respect. They’re not cargo,’ Mayor Lightfoot says.

Late Wednesday night, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot rushed to a Salvation Army depot where she greeted the group of migrants who had been shipped to the city by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

Speaking to tired families and children, Lightfoot recalled, she “just told them that we would be here for them.”

“I think they were all very, very grateful after the journeys that they’ve been on traveling from their home countries and treated as coarsely they were by the governor of Texas, coming here and finding a completely different experience, I think some of them were a little bit surprised,” Lightfoot said at an afternoon news conference. “But I think as the reality that we are going to treat them with dignity and respect really sinks in, I’m confident that the burdens they’ve been carrying are going to be a little bit lighter.”

For weeks now, Abbott, a Republican, has been sending busloads of migrants who crossed the border in Texas to Washington, D.C., and New York City as part of an effort to criticize the nation’s immigration policies and relieve what he says are overburdened border towns in his state. Now, Abbott said, Chicago will be added to the list, putting the city in a national spotlight.

Lightfoot wasted no time responding, saying her administration had spent weeks preparing for the possibility and criticizing Abbott for what she said were “racist,” inhumane and xenophobic acts.

“Gov. Abbott has confirmed what unfortunately many of us already had known, that he is a man without any morals, humanity or shame,” Lightfoot said. “Instead of treating these individuals with respect that they deserve ... Gov. Abbott chose instead to inhumanely load them onto buses, send them on a more-than-12-hour journey across a country that they don’t known and drop them off without any regard for what the next steps are. These are human beings. Moms and dads, young children, elders who deserve our respect and dignity. They’re not cargo. They are not chattel. They’re human beings.”

But the mayor also hailed the city’s response to the arrival of two busloads of migrants as an important moment in Chicago’s history that proved its reputation as a safe haven for people seeking a better life.

“We are Chicago, a welcoming city, a city where we live our values every single day — a city where immigrants and refugees have been a part of the fabric of the city from our earliest days,” Lightfoot said. “Last night, we showed our mettle — the best of who we are.”

Lightfoot has been an outspoken advocate for immigrants’ rights since becoming mayor in 2019 and has not been shy about defending Chicago on the national stage. She has clashed with former President Donald Trump, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Illinois Republican candidate for governor Darren Bailey when they have attempted to use the city as a political punching bag.

Months after being elected, Lightfoot crashed a news conference held by the Chicago director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, where she appeared with a group of immigration activists and called Director Robert Guadian’s criticism of the city’s sanctuary ordinance “nonsense.”

The mayor later pushed a revision to Chicago’s Welcoming City ordinance that prohibited police from cooperating with federal immigration authorities to deport immigrants living in the country without legal permission who have criminal backgrounds. She has also gone on walking tours in Chicago neighborhoods with large immigrant populations where she passed out “know your rights” flyers.

Other Illinois leaders rushed to condemn Abbott and pledge their support for the migrants. Gov. J.B. Pritzker said in a statement that “Illinois welcomes refugees, asylum-seekers and immigrants” and added that the state is working with federal and city officials “to ensure that these individuals are treated with respect and safety as they look to connect with their family and friends.”

He said his great-grandfather emigrated from Ukraine in 1881 and that “immigrants just like my family seeking freedom and opportunity built this country.”

U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat, shared similar sentiments and vowed to assist Lightfoot and Pritzker “to make sure they have what they need at the federal level.”

“No disgusting, political and racist stunt by the Texas governor could stop us from (welcoming the migrants),” she said.

Caleb Senn, general secretary of the Salvation Army, also pledged to support the migrants.

“Our mission is to ensure that all people, whether from Chicago or Venezuela, know no hunger and have a safe place to sleep,” he said.

Bailey, a conservative state senator from downstate Xenia and Pritzker’s Republican challenger for governor, said the migrants’ arrival was another example of border problems he blamed on President Joe Biden.

”The crisis at the border has a terrible human cost and we in Illinois are about to get a close up look. No city or state has the resources to handle this,” Bailey said in a statement. “Pritzker should get his buddy Biden to fix the border. Biden also owes us the resources to vet and take care of these people.”

Though Illinois officials cast the crisis as an opportunity to show compassion, significant logistical hurdles remained. Asked whether the roughly 75 migrants who arrived will get permanent housing, for instance, Lightfoot said it will depend on each person’s plans — some individuals want to move to other cities where they already have family or contacts, she noted.

Lightfoot noted that several nonprofits, including the Salvation Army and Resurrection Project, had provided a “tremendous outpouring” of assistance. Whether they will be able to handle more busloads from Abbott remains to be seen, though Lightfoot expressed confidence in the city’s preparation.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said the county’s health system “stands prepared to provide our new neighbors with health screenings, primary care, vaccinations and other necessary medical services.” The Cook County public defender’s immigration unit can provide legal help, she said in a release. “It is clear through yesterday’s actions that we must show other states how to lead with compassion in a time of humanitarian need.”

Lightfoot said she will also want money from the federal government to help deal with the situation.

Asked about any coordination with Texas officials, Lightfoot said it would’ve been nice if the Abbott administration had communicated details about the people it was sending, such as how many there would be and whether anyone needed medical care. That didn’t happen, the mayor said.

“That’s what a leader would do. That is not who Gov. Abbott is,” Lightfoot said. “That’s not what he’s done. What you’re seeing instead is what we do in Chicago, in Illinois.”

The mayor said she expects to see more migrants arrive but helping take care of them is “something we must do,” despite the problems.

“This is a humanitarian crisis manufactured by a cheap politician who is focused on his own political fortunes and pandering to, frankly, the lowest common denominator in his party at the expense of these people’s … lives,” Lightfoot said. “So we have to be the opposite of that, and do whatever is necessary to stand up in this moment and we will do that.”

Chicago Tribune’s Laura Rodríguez Presa, Dan Petrella and A.D. Quig contributed.