Illinois Governor Asks Texas To Halt Sending Migrants Amid Winter Storm

“I hope we can at least agree on saving lives right now," Gov. J.B. Pritzker wrote in a letter to Texas' Greg Abbott as Illinois braces for subzero temperatures.

Illinois’ governor has asked for a humanitarian break in the flow of migrants sent by Texas due to a dangerous and potentially deadly storm.

“Over the coming days, Illinois will experience a dangerous winter storm and subzero temperatures,” Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) wrote in a letter addressed to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on Friday.

“You are dropping off asylum seekers without alerting us to their arrivals, at improper locations at all hours of the night,” he said. “I hope we can at least agree on saving lives right now.”

Significant parts of Illinois are under blizzard or winter storm warnings. Windchill temperatures are expected to dip into the minus 20s and 30s overnight on Saturday, Sunday and Monday across the central and northern parts of the state, according to the National Weather Service.

Pritzker in his letter acknowledged the ongoing frustration that states along the U.S.-Mexico border, like Texas, have felt as migrants overwhelm government checkpoints, shelters and surrounding border communities. He asked that the federal government address this issue, and not Abbott, who has resorted to busing and flying people to states that have declared themselves sanctuaries for migrants.