(The Center Square) – With the threat of another wave of migrants bused to Illinois during the Democratic National Convention next week, nearly 200 people became U.S. citizens Wednesday during a ceremony at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.
The group, who came from 49 different countries, took the Oath of Allegiance.
Several elected officials were on hand, including U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, and Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
“You will now help us write the story of Illinois and of the United States in the 21st Century,” said Pritzker.
Illinois has been dealing with an influx of illegal immigrants for two years as they have been bused in from border states. During the Republican National Convention last month, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said it is the Biden Administration’s immigration policies that led to the busing of migrants to sanctuary states like Illinois.
“On his first day in office, he gutted President Trump’s policies, and the result has been catastrophic,” said Abbott.
Abbott also said the buses will continue to roll until the U.S. border is secured. Abbott started the busing initiative in 2022 as part of Operation Lone Star, an $11 billion program designed to address the surge in illegal border crossings in Texas.
The buses have not been rolling on a consistent basis for months because of a drop in the number of migrants apprehended at the southern border.
Beatriz Ponce de Leon, Chicago’s deputy mayor for immigration, told reporters last month that the city was preparing for as many as 25,000 migrant arrivals during the Democratic National Convention. But President Joe Biden’s June executive order limiting asylum-seeker’s arrivals at the border has downplayed those expectations.
Since August 2022, an estimated 34,000 migrants have arrived in Illinois.