City is prepared for flood of migrants during DNC, but officials think it may not happen
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The City of Chicago has been preparing for an influx of migrants ahead of the Democratic National Convention—but are the promises being made by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to send more buses to Chicago really empty?
Officials think it might just be.
"We projected kind of a low flow of people coming in, to a very high, and then began to plan for that," said Beatriz Ponce de León, Chicago's Deputy Mayor of Immigrant, Migrant and Refugee Rights. "At this moment, there's no evidence on the ground that there are new arrivals crossing the border ready to be sent to Chicago."
In early June, President Biden issued an executive order for a temporary suspension of certain non-citizens' entry across the U.S. southern border.
In Chicago, capacity is available to house around 11,000 people. As of Friday night, only about half those beds were occupied.
"If we were to max out at those 11,000 beds, then we have a plan to open what we're calling just-in-time beds," said Ponce de León.
Meanwhile, a new hire joined Ponce de León's team just in time for the DNC—someone temporarily serving the city's migrant mission despite dwindling numbers.
"We had been working to bring someone on in this role for a bit," Ponce de León said. "We were just working to find the right person."
Harley Jones—who has held several positions in the nonprofit and emergency management sectors—is a temporary hire who is rumored to be a replacement for Ponce de León. The city calls him an executive on loan.
"Harley Jones is not taking my role," said Ponce de León. "I'm the Deputy Mayor of Immigrant, Migrant and Refugee rights."
Ponce de León said Jones is a six-month addition to the team.
"He's also going to be part of our team as we look across the mission and make some decisions going into the fall and into next year," Ponce de León said.
CBS News Chicago asked Ponce de León what will happen to all the shelters and the surge infrastructure for migrants after the DNC. She said the city is not necessarily dismantling anything, because they do not know if they will see another surge at some point.
