Chicago's ongoing migrant saga took another turn early Sunday when a plane from Texas landed at Rockford International Airport at 1:00 a.m., dispatching over 300 migrants who were soon bused toward the city. As Texas Gov. Greg Abbott continues to transport migrants to sanctuary cities, Mayor Brandon Johnson accused him of sowing discord, declaring that local economies can't sustain this federal crisis.
The recent arrival marks the second time Texas has opted to use air transport as opposed to buses, a method seemingly designed to circumvent Chicago's ordinance against "rogue" bus drop-offs. The migrants, flown in from San Antonio, quickly boarded buses headed for Chicago, but instead were left in various suburbs. This left them to find their way into the city by trains and other means, a maneuver that Mayor Johnson critiqued on the "Face the Nation" for being dangerously uncoordinated and a national security concern. "He's determined to continue to sow seeds of chaos," Johnson said.
Metra stations in Elgin and other suburbs witnessed migrants disembarking and utilizing the trains to reach their final destination within the city limits. Elgin Mayor David Kaptain reported that all their tickets were paid for, and they headed into Chicago without causing much fuss. Meanwhile, Rockford officials voiced their readiness to activate emergency operations should more flights be directed their way, as detailed by the WLS.
There's a reported number of over 14,000 migrants at active shelters throughout the city and nearly 600 still awaiting placement. The city's Office of Emergency Management has been left to handle the aftermath.
Tinley Park Mayor Michael Glotz talked about the added stress, mentioning that the police are keeping a vigilant eye on the situation. As Illinois shelters find themselves at capacity, these ongoing arrivals have prompted Gov. JB Pritzker to bid other communities to shelter incoming migrants, committing millions in assistance.
