Mayor Johnson announces southern border trip; DHS meets with City Council members on migrant crisis
Migrants dropped off at Willis Tower Thursday morning
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Officials with the Department of Homeland Security met with some City Council members Thursday along with Mayor Brandon Johnson's office to discuss his upcoming trip to the southern border.
Meanwhile, Chicago saw more buses continued to arrive not far from Union Station Thursday morning as the migrant crisis intensifies.
Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez will be at that meeting. He said Homeland Security officials will also be looking at possible housing sites around the city for asylum seekers to move into in the near future.
Lopez said the federal government and the state need to do much more.
"We are bearing the burden of a federal government that has been absent - that has not provided the same resources that are provided to Ukrainian refugees even though they have the exact same immigration status," Lopez said. "We want to make sure that they are amending the wrongs and addressing this crisis."
Mayor Johnson said he wants to visit the border to see the conditions there first hand as the city's migrant crisis grows.
University of Chicago Law Professor Nicole Hallett explained the temporary protective laws that allow asylum seekers to remain in Chicago.
"It allows individuals from certain countries that are unsafe, or who are facing war or natural disaster can remain in the United States and they won't be deported and they will be allowed to stay and work," Hallett said.
Mayor Johnson said as many as 22 bus loads of migrants could be arriving in Chicago daily.
Alderman Brian Hopkins wrote on social media Wednesday night said, "a bus load of migrants has arrived at Sears (Willis, if you prefer) Tower. Building management was not expecting them, and says they can't stay in the lobby."
Scanner traffic picking up the audio of the call to authorities when that bus arrived at around 9:15 p.m. A source said OEMC was listening to the scanner traffic and then they sent a response team to find a place for those asylum seekers to go.
Mayor Johnson said as many as 22 bus loads of migrants could be arriving daily.
"We still have public safety that we have to address," he said. "We still have the unhoused that we have to address. I still have a budget that I have to address. And I'm doing all of that with a Black wife, raising three Black children on the west side of the city of Chicago. I am going to the border as soon as possible."
House Speak Chris Welch was also at City Hall Thursday to meet with Johnson to talk about the city's request for state funding.
Johnson pointed a thinly veiled finger at Texas Gov. Greg Abbot for creating the problem that DHS is in the city to evaluate.
"Based upon our interactions thus far. It is becoming increasingly clear that those who want to disrupt our democracy are committed to doing that; it's a real mission of theirs. And so our hope is that we will continue to get more resources and a stronger commitment from the federal government to be able to provide us with the support that the people of Chicago need," Johnson said.
This comes as city officials at weekly community meetings continue to face pushback on plans to open new shelters. In South Shore, residents and community activists accused the mayor of stripping neighborhoods of resources.
Meanwhile, the mayor said the failure of federal policies is what is impacting Chicago in a dramatic way.
Illinois U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth shared a statement about Chicago's migrant crisis and the mayor's plans to visit the southern border:
Senator Durbin and I had a productive conversation with Secretary Mayorkas yesterday to discuss the need for more federal assistance in Chicago to help with the increased influx of migrants. We also reiterated our call to expedite work authorizations for those with temporary protected status - something that will be critically helpful to our businesses that need more workers and the new Illinoisans who need work to provide for their families.
I'm glad to see Mayor Johnson is travelling to the border soon. I've been to the U.S. Mexico border, and I think it's an important learning experience to see what's happening and understand the solutions that are and are not viable.
