Texas governor flies about 100 asylum seekers to Chicago on private plane after crackdown on "rogue" buses
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The governor of Texas flew about 100 migrants to Chicago on Tuesday night, using a chartered private plane, following Chicago's crackdown on "rogue" buses that have been flouting the city's rules for dropping off asylum seekers in the city.
Mayor Brandon Johnson's office said a private plane chartered by the Texas Department of Emergency Management landed at O'Hare International Airport around 7:15 p.m., and dropped off about 100 asylum seekers at Signature Flight. A spokesperson for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said there were more than 120 passengers on the plane.
Because the flight arrived without warning from Texas, airport officials called police when it landed. The mayor's office said two unidentified people who flew with the migrants fled the Signature Flight office at O'Hare in an Uber before police arrived.
The flight originated in El Paso, Texas, along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Abbott's office blamed Chicago's crackdown on buses that have been bringing migrants to Chicago without following the city's rules. Earlier this month, the City Council approved tougher penalties for what the Johnson administration has described as "rogue bus operators," for violations such as failing to notify the city within the proper timeframe, and not dropping off migrants at designated locations. Violators are subject to fines of up to $3,000, and buses that violate Chicago's rules could be impounded.
That crackdown prompted Abbott to start sending migrants to Chicago by plane, and his office promised more are coming.
"Because Mayor Johnson is failing to live up to his city's 'Welcoming City' ordinance by targeting migrant buses from Texas, we are expanding our operation to include flights to Chicago," Abbott spokesman Andrew Mahaleris said.
While Abbott has cited Chicago's Welcoming City ordinance as part of the motivation for sending migrants to the city and others with similar ordinances, the law does not require Chicago to spend any taxpayer funds to provide them temporary housing or other care when they arrive in the city. The ordinance only provides protections to undocumented immigrants, and does not apply to any of the migrants sent here from Texas, all of whom are in the U.S. legally after requesting asylum.
As of Wednesday morning, 296 migrants were staying at O'Hare International Airport, including the asylum seekers who arrived Tuesday night. The mayor's office said it was working to find space for all of those migrants in one of the 27 active migrant shelters in Chicago.
City officials said three buses carrying migrants also arrived in Chicago on Tuesday, with another five expected on Wednesday.
Since August 2022, a total of 26,100 migrants have arrived in Chicago, mostly from Texas. Approximately 14,100 of them were staying in one of 27 active city-run shelters.
Tuesday night's private flight was the latest escalation of Abbott's mission to send migrants from Texas to so-called "sanctuary cities" across the U.S. in protest of the Biden administration's immigration policies.
"Governor Abbott launched the border bus mission in April 2022 to provide support to our overrun and overwhelmed border communities as the Biden Administration leaves thousands of migrants in their towns. Until President Biden steps up and does his job to secure the border, Texas will continue taking historic action to help our local partners respond to this Biden-made crisis," Mahaleris said.