Chicago City Council grapples with migrant influx amid neighborhood concerns

CHICAGO - Some twelve days after Texas Governor Greg Abbott directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to deploy additional buses to sanctuary cities, there was confusion in City Hall over exactly how many buses were expected to arrive in Chicago on Wednesday.

During a post-City Council press conference, Mayor Brandon Johnson was asked whether it was 13, 14, or in fact 22 buses scheduled for arrival.

"They’re now breaking curfew, they’re sending buses in the middle of the night and so that number continues to change throughout the day," Johnson told reporters. 

As the steady influx of asylum seekers has grown into a wave in recent days, council members, who have to answer to residents, are now sharing space in Chicago’s neighborhoods and are losing patience.

During what was at times a contentious council meeting, 9th Ward Alderman Anthony Beale called into question housing migrants at a police district where sex offenders are required to register. 

"Look, this is why I’ve been working hard to remove people from police districts—that’s why I’m setting up a brand-new shelter every single week," said Johnson. 

And while O’Hare has been transformed into a makeshift shelter for asylum seekers with men, women and children sleeping on floors and showering off-site, Mayor Johnson was quick to remind reporters that he is asking for help.

"I’ve been to D.C. multiple times, I’ve been to Springfield, all over the city of Chicago working to bring people together to share in the sacrifice of this crisis," said Johnson.

Still to be answered? How much money Mayor Johnson is willing to commit to the migrant surge going forward when so much of his ambitious agenda is yet to be paid for.

"I know there’s been a burden, particularly on Black Chicago—I’m fully aware of that—Y’all know where I live," he said.