Democrat Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson moans that influx of migrants is ‘not sustainable’ without ‘significant federal funding’ – after he welcomed them into ‘sanctuary city’ with open arms
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has blamed both the Biden administration and Texas for his city's struggle to care for thousands of migrants.
The city has spent $138 million on the crisis, which is only expected to worsen as temperatures drop as winter progresses.
Johnson said about 15,000 asylum seekers were crammed into 27 shelters across the city after being brought in from the US-Mexico border, specifically Texas.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has sent more than 25,300 migrants to Chicago since August 2022, on buses and more recently on charter flights.
About 10,000 migrants cross the border every day, and many of them are sent to “sanctuary cities” like Chicago, New York and Denver.
Chicago has spent $138 million on the crisis, which is only expected to worsen as temperatures drop as winter progresses
Johnson renewed his feud with Abbott, calling his actions “reckless and dangerous,” but also lamented the lack of federal support.
“I have said repeatedly that we need more resources and I have asked for $15 billion for the entire country,” he said on CNN on Wednesday.
Johnson said he appreciated the federal government issuing work permits to get immigrants into jobs so they could make a living.
But he warned, “Without significant investment from our federal government, it won't just be the city of Chicago that can't sustain this mission.
“It's the entire country that's at stake now.”
He took another shot at President Joe Biden by calling for “real, substantive immigration reform and policies that allow us to have a structure and a path to citizenship.”
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has blamed both the Biden administration and Texas for his city's struggle to care for thousands of migrants
Johnson said about 15,000 asylum seekers were being held in shelters in the city after being brought in by buses from the US-Mexico border, mainly Texas.
Hundreds of asylum seekers are temporarily staying at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago
The mayor claimed that since he was elected seven months ago, poor coordination between federal, state and local government had worsened the crisis.
“What I've been working on instead of creating chaos is providing some structure and calm around this situation and without significant federal support. This is not sustainable,” he said.
“We're talking about individuals who, quite frankly, suffered miles, thousands of miles of betrayal to reach the border.
“And so what we've seen … is that a lack of coordination has caused tremendous stress.”
An example of this was Abbott loading as many immigrants as possible onto buses and sending them to Illinois without warning.
Chicago tried to get them to arrive at designated locations during business hours and impounded buses that didn't follow these rules.
However, bus companies responded by dropping off migrants as far as 60 miles from Chicago, and Abbott began sending them on charter flights.
Texas has spent $86.1 million so far sending migrants to “sanctuary cities” across the country, about $1,650 per person.
“What the state of Texas is doing is not helping the cause in any way,” Johnson said Wednesday.
“As much as we recognize that there are significant challenges at the border… sending buses across Illinois and the entire country is reckless and, quite frankly, dangerous.”
A young migrant girl eagerly shows off what she's made of overnight snowfall in a small tent community in Chicago
Chicago's mayor claimed that since he was elected seven months ago, poor coordination between federal, state and local government had worsened the crisis
Johnson was joined later on Wednesday by New York Mayor Eric Adams and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston for a coordinated attack on both Texas and the federal government.
“We cannot do this alone, we need more support from the federal government and today we are responsible and committed to ensuring that our respective cities do our part and we need the federal government to step in and provide more financial assistance to offer,” he said.
“All of our cities have reached a point where we are either close to capacity or running out of space.
“Without significant federal government intervention, this mission will not sustain.”
Johnson said the indiscriminate arrival of “rogue buses” from Texas had “caused an incredible amount of chaos” that was damaging local economies.
'[They are] literally dropping families in the middle of nowhere,” he said.
“These families have been through a lot of political unrest and traveled hundreds of thousands of miles to reach the border, with no real care or processing and no system in place.
'The rogue buses and now also the charter flights are not only unsafe, but also inhumane. So not only are we calling on the federal government to provide support and resources to address this humanitarian crisis, we also need better coordination at the border.
“The State of Texas has a responsibility to reach out to municipalities across the country to help address and respond to this crisis.”
Mayor Adams backed him on both counts, urging Abbott to stop “using migrants as political pawns” but also urging Biden to do much more to help.
“We cannot continue to do the work of the federal government… we need action, and we need it now,” he said.
“This is a national problem that has only been exacerbated by Governor Abbott's cruel and inhumane policies and requires additional, national solutions.
“The federal government must take responsibility and take the lead on this humanitarian crisis, instead of leaving it to the cities and municipalities.”
Migrants line up in El Paso on December 19 to board a plane to Chicago
El Paso city officials worked with state officials to transport more than 17,000 migrants from the West Texas city
Conditions in Chicago's migrant shelters have been under scrutiny since five-year-old boy Jean Carlo Martinez Rivero died on December 17.
Johnson claimed there was “no evidence that the conditions of the shelter caused the death of this young boy.”
Volunteers trying to help the asylum seekers as best they can, submitting lists of concerns to city officials months before Jean's death.
Photos and videos at the shelter where he died showed 2,300 migrants huddled under a leaky roof in freezing temperatures.
One video showed a young boy with what appeared to be a bandage around his head, lying on a thin folding bed while distracting himself with a tablet.
Another shows another child coughing and crying as their temperature is taken and examined by volunteers.
A third video showed water leaking from the roof and pooling on one of the beds.
Despite strict regulations punishing charter buses loaded with migrants IllinoisBuses and planes carrying migrants are currently headed to Chicago, El Paso officials confirmed to DailyMail.com.
Five-year-old Jean Carlo Martinez Rivero fell ill at the Pilsen migrant shelter and was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital days later on Sunday
Last week, the Texas Division of Emergency Management, or TDEM, which handles migrant transports, chartered its first flight carrying migrants to Chicago to avoid increasing restrictions on when and where migrants can be dropped off.
'TDEM has actually turned it around; they said if we have any problems with buses, we're going to send flights,” John Martin, who runs the Opportunity Center for the Homeless in El Paso, told DailyMail.com in an interview Tuesday.
Migrants without money to travel to their final destination often choose to hop on one of the Texas buses that go to so-called sanctuary cities.
They sign a waiver stating that they voluntarily agree to proceed and be taken to New York City, Chicago, Washington, DC, Philadelphia, Denver or Los Angeles.
From there the state takes over.