Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker says "we need help from the White House" on migrant crisis

Democratic governor of Illinois, J.B. Pritzker, has many of the same concerns, and he's joining us this morning from Chicago. Governor, thank you for joining us. Of course, we should say, in order to do many of the things you and the mayor are asking for, we need a Congress to legislate, and to legislate, you need a Speaker of the House, and we are stuck. So at the moment, though, I want to understand what it is that you're asking President Biden to do, because you had a pretty sharply worded letter this past week talking about the federal government's lack of intervention and coordination, creating an untenable situation in Illinois. Did the White House respond? Have they fixed your problem? Well, thanks, and good morning, Margaret. Let me also begin by sending our condolences, and our hearts are with the people of Israel at this moment, the families of those who died, and also the people who've been kidnapped and taken hostage by these terrorists. So the United States stands with Israel, and so does the state of Illinois, and so do I personally. Let me answer your question by saying that we were very clear in our communication with the White House that what we need is logistical support, that is help deciding where these folks ought to go, because they can't all go to Chicago and New York and D.C. They need to go in places where there's even more help to offer. We of course are a welcoming state, and have been caring for the people who've arrived, but we can't bear the burden only ourselves. Who can? Where do they go? So we communicated that. Let me also say that the White House has been told, you know, we need resources, and you talked about the Congress being in chaos. The House of Representatives is opposed to any kind of comprehensive immigration reform. It seems like now is the moment to talk about border security and immigration reform. We want immigrants in the United States. We also want border security. It seems like there's a compromise there that can occur. But look, there are lots of places in the country where there are NGOs that can be of assistance to these folks who've arrived. They're here legally. They have refuge in the United States for the moment. My family were refugees to this country too. We ought to welcome them, put them through a process, and if they don't meet the requirements, they should be sent back. And that's what the president is beginning to do now. Beginning to do with that announcement that Venezuela will now accept some deportations. But on that point, you were pretty prescriptive in your letter. You said you need a single office with an identified leader. You told the president to take a more active role. You recommend he put one person in charge who works directly for him. This sounds like a management 101. How did that go over? Well, they heard me. You know, there are so many departments that are responsible for helping to care for these asylum seekers, as well as managing them as they cross the border. I hope that they will put one office together. I know the White House right now is coordinating it, but they need one office and, in my opinion, one person at the head of that office that we can call, that we can work with to coordinate. Because look, we're providing shelter as best we can and providing for the needs of these folks arriving in Chicago. And as I say, we're a welcoming state and we understand the humanitarian crisis that we're addressing, but we can't address this all by ourselves. And we need help from the White House. One example of this is this communication that I think needs to occur with data so that we can understand who's arriving and when they're arriving and whether they have relatives already in the United States who might be able to help care for them. None of that is being done at the border. That's where it ought to be done. And then folks shouldn't, should be told that it's going to get cold in Chicago and New York very soon. And there are lots of other places in the country that they might want to consider going, and the White House and the federal government should be facilitating that. I appreciate your focus on the human element here. I want to ask you about the political, the Democratic conventions in Chicago next year. Are you confident that your city and your state are going to have a better grasp on it by this time? I am confident that we can handle it. But again, it will require help from the federal government and someone needs to work in Texas with these border politicians to have them stop sending people only to blue cities and blue states. And the president of the United States and the White House has the ability to help disperse folks across the country. That will help a lot. But we are managing in the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois as best we can in these circumstances. But not if just those few politicians in Texas are taking responsibility for this. It needs to be a federal national problem that gets handled at the national level. Governor Pritzker, thank you for your time this morning.