Migrants, advocates rally on May Day as Lightfoot, Pritzker blast Texas governor for plan to bus migrants to Chicago

Dozens of migrant workers and activists gathered at Union Park in the West Loop on Monday to advocate for the rights of essential workers and for immigration reform as Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Gov. J.B. Pritzker blasted Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for his decision to resume busing migrants from his state to Chicago.

The rainy march on May Day — celebrated as international labor day around the world — went from Union Park to Federal Plaza. As wind blew their umbrellas upside down and rain soaked their ponchos, their voices rang out clearly.

“Neither rain nor wind will stop us from being here at this moment!” they shouted in Spanish.

The May Day march occurred on the day that Abbott announced he would resume busing migrants from his state, a move Lightfoot had asked Abbott to reconsider in a letter she sent him Sunday.

The Texas governor responded Monday with a blunt refusal: he would not stop the “necessary program” until President Joe Biden “secures the border to stop the inflow of mass migration.”

Lightfoot shared Abbott’s letter on Twitter, describing him as a “politician who continues to race to the bottom to score political points with no regard for the human lives involved or the consequences” and chastising him for describing asylum seekers as illegal immigrants.

“Shameful but sadly expected,” she said.

”As the mayor of a self-declared sanctuary city, it is ironic to hear you complain about Chicago’s struggle,” Abbott’s letter said. If the city can’t “deal with” 8,000 migrants “in less than a year, how are small Texas border communities supposed to manage 13,000 in just one day?” Abbott asked Lightfoot to call on Biden to secure the border and said “this is not a Texas problem — this is a problem for the entire United States of America.”

Last week, city officials said Chicago had experienced a tenfold increase in new arrivals as hundreds of migrants arrived at O’Hare sent by community-based organizations in San Antonio, Texas. Migrant families have been sleeping on the floors of police stations because there isn’t enough shelter space for them around the city.

As more migrants arrive in Chicago, the city and Cook County have been looking to the state for additional funding to assist with the cost of providing food, shelter and health care.

At an unrelated news conference at Steinmetz College Prep High School in Belmont Cragin, Pritzker accused Abbott of “trying to alleviate any burden on his government and send people to places in the country where he thinks he can gain political advantage doing it.”

In Lightfoot’s letter to Abbott on Sunday, she reported that Chicago has received more than 8,000 migrants on buses since August. Lightfoot stressed that the city has no more shelters, spaces or resources to accommodate an increase of individuals at this level.

“Governor Abbott, this is not a state v. state or city v. city problem. The immigration crisis is a national challenge that requires national collaboration,” the letter said.

Pritzker said his administration is talking with the Lightfoot administration and Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson about the city’s needs. That included an additional $20 million to the city of Chicago earlier this year in response to a request from Lightfoot.

The state and city expect to find out in the coming weeks whether they’ll receive additional money through the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide emergency food and shelter, according to the governor’s office.

At the rally, Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, 25th, said the new buses sent by Abbott are expected to arrive late Monday and into Tuesday.

With Title 42 — a U.S. policy that tightened border regulations to stem the spread of COVID-19 — expected to lift on May 11, the situation is only growing more dire, he said.

“This is a humanitarian crisis of great magnitude. We expect to see thousands of people tonight and tomorrow. I think that we’re not prepared,” Sigcho-Lopez said.

The small crowd took off from Union Park, banging on drums, shouting and carrying signs. “Justice for Central America,” read one. “May Day for a better world and equality for all,” read another.

Elvira Arellano, founder of the migrant advocacy group La Familia Latina Unida, or The United Latin Family, spoke out at the rally. Almost 20 years ago, she had avoided a deportation notice at the Department of Homeland Security by staying in Adalberto United Methodist Church in Humboldt Park with her young son, Saul.

Saul Arellano, 24, will graduate from Northeastern Illinois University in a few weeks with a degree in justice studies. He said he has spent his life attending rallies and fighting for people who have migrated to the U.S.

After his mother was deported at an immigration rally in Los Angeles in August 2007, he went back with her to Mexico. They returned to Chicago in 2014 and continued to lead rallies across the city, advocating for people seeking refuge.

He told the Tribune that the same church in Humboldt Park that he and his mother stayed in 17 years ago has also opened their doors for migrants who arrived on buses from Texas a few months ago.

“We didn’t have much to offer, so it was whatever came out of our pockets to help,” he said.

Saul carried an umbrella to cover his backpack with a letter he and two classmates wrote to Biden, U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth.

His letter asks them to push for immigration reform. It asks for an increase in federal minimum wage, reinforced work permit authorization and closure of private detention centers, among other demands.

The last request is to lift embargoes to refugees’ countries of origin.

“The situation is critical and has caused kids to be in inhumane conditions,” Saul wrote.

Saul, like many workers who marched Monday morning, said he knows what it is like to seek refuge.

“Our families have been here for decades, contributing to the economy,” he said. “My mother and many others were essential workers and they got sick. They didn’t have the same protections, so that’s what we’re asking for.”

Tomasa Guzman, 57, and Olegaria Valladaris, 61, wore plastic ponchos and carried big signs that flapped around in the wind. Guzman cleans houses and Valladaris cleans downtown businesses. They said they heard about the march on the radio.

“A lot of people come to the U.S. with education, but can’t get jobs because of their legal status. So they’re forced to do what they can. Pick up trash. Clean the bathrooms,” said Guzman in Spanish.

Originally from Guerrero, Mexico, Guzman has lived in Chicago for 30 years and has four children. She said she wishes she could tell the migrants coming on the buses that the suffering isn’t exclusive to their countries of origin. There is a lot of suffering in the United States and in Chicago, too, she said.

“We’re making the minimum to sustain our families, pay our bills,” added Valladaris.

Chicago Tribune’s Dan Petrella and A.D. Quig contributed.

nsalzman@chicagotribune.com