The Governor of Illinois has begged Texas Governor Greg Abbott to stop bussing migrants to his state ahead of a life-threatening winter storm.

Governor JB Pritzker warned carrying out the policy amid plunging temperatures is jeopardizing the safety of migrant children and families.

And with the mercury set to plummet even further at the weekend, he has begged Abbott ‘for mercy’ on behalf of the thousands of migrants arriving in Texas who are due to be sent off to Illinois’ sanctuary cities.

Storm Gerri has already brought extreme weather to the Midwest. On Saturday temperatures in Chicago are expected to drop to just -2F. Many of the migrants being dropped off in Illinois are arriving without coats or winter shoes, Governor Pritzker warned. 

‘Please, while winter is threatening vulnerable people’s lives, suspend your transports and do not send more people to our state,’ he wrote in an open letter to Governor Abbot on Friday.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has written to Texas leader Governor Greg Abbott begging him to stop bussing migrants to his state as a deadly winter storm looms

Pritzker warned many migrants are being dropped off on the streets ill equipped for the harsh Midwest winter

Pritzker (left) acknowledged that the current border crisis is ‘untenable’ for southern states but urged Governor Abbott (right) to use his ‘humanity’ 

The Illinois official acknowledged the border situation for southern states is ‘untenable’ and agreed both states feel there is a need for federal reform on immigration.

‘We should be able to come together in a bipartisan fashion to urge Congress to act,’ Pritzker wrote. ‘But right now, we are talking about human beings and their survival. I hope we can at least agree on saving lives right now.

But he accused Abbott of using the migrant crisis to score political points

‘You seem to have no interest in working on bipartisan solutions to the border crisis because that would put an end to your cruel political game, but I am writing to you today hoping to appeal to your humanity,’ he added.

The policy of bussing migrants north to sanctuary cities such as Chicago, Washington D.C. and New York began in 2022 under Operation Lonestar.

Pritzker said the tactic had seen the state overwhelmed by drop-offs ‘at improper locations at all hours of the night’ without any notice.

‘As we grapple with the existing challenges of your ongoing manufactured crisis, the next few days are a threat to the families and children you are sending here. I am pleading with you to at least pause these transports to save live,’ Pritzker wrote.

He stated that the leaders should be able to ‘come together in a bipartisan fashion to urge Congress to act’.

Temperatures are set to plunge to -2F in Chicago over the weekend with the arrival of winter Storm Gerri 

According to the Kankakee County Sheriff’s Office, nearly 40 migrants from Venezuela were at Love’s gas station’s parking lot near an Illinois highway on December 21

‘But right now, we are talking about human beings survival. I hope we can at least agree on saving lives right now,’ he concluded. 

Abbott has sent more than 25,300 migrants to Chicago since August 2022, on buses and more recently on charter flights.

About 10,000 migrants are crossing the border every day and many of them are sent to ‘sanctuary cities’ like Chicago, New York, and Denver.

Last month, it emerged that a busload of migrants who were bound for Chicago had been abandoned near an Illinois highway.

According to the Kankakee County Sheriff’s Office, nearly 40 migrants from Venezuela were at Love’s gas station’s parking lot near an Illinois highway on December 21.

Authorities found many migrants walking down the highway and expressway while wrapped in blankets. The group had been left without money, food, adequate clothing and under the impression that they had reached their destination.