Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker conceded on Fox News on Thursday that illegal border crossings have significantly decreased since President Donald Trump took office, acknowledging a stark difference from the challenges Chicago faced during the previous administration.
Appearing on “Special Report with Bret Baier,” Pritzker directly credited the drop in arrivals to the change in federal leadership. When asked about the best thing Trump has done since being in office, the governor stated, “Here’s what I would say. Since President Trump has taken office, we don’t have the problem that existed before with people coming across the border.”
This statement follows a period where Chicago, Pritzker said, struggled to manage the tens of thousands of arrivals bused from the southern border, primarily by Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, receiving “no help really from the federal government” under former President Joe Biden.
According to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data cited in the interview, border crossings have “plummeted” under the current administration, with migrant apprehensions at the southern border dropping 93% compared to average figures during the Biden administration. The data also indicated no migrant paroles in the last four months. This contrasts with the previous administration, where Border Patrol agents released nearly 90,000 migrants into the country in May and June 2024 alone.
The significant shift in border control followed President Trump’s reinstatement of aggressive enforcement measures, including executive orders to restore border wall construction, deploy military resources, pause refugee entries, and move to end birthright citizenship for children of illegal migrants.
Despite praising the border’s stabilization, Pritzker quickly pivoted to criticize President Trump for failing to pursue comprehensive, bipartisan immigration reform, despite his party’s control of the White House and Congress.
“He could have proposed comprehensive immigration reform and gotten it passed. He could have done that. He hasn’t done that. Why?” Pritzker challenged.
The governor urged the president to use his political strength to secure a lasting solution through legislation, rather than relying solely on law enforcement crackdowns by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Border Patrol.
“Why not get immigration reform in place that we can all rally around? Look, I like that we have borders. We need borders, right? You don’t have a country if you don’t have borders,” Pritzker concluded. “But let’s deal with immigration with an actual bill that Democrats and Republicans can rally around… Let’s finally do it.”
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