Number of immigrants in Chicago exceeds 15,000 as 27 buses arrive since weekend
Rachel Schilke
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The influx of immigrants from the southern border into Chicago has now exceeded 15,000 thanks to the arrival of 27 buses since Saturday.
The increasing amount of asylum-seekers in the Windy City — hundreds arrived on seven buses just on Wednesday — comes as the city prepares to relocate over 1,600 immigrants from police stations and airports to more permanent lodgings.
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Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson defended his administration’s decision on Wednesday to spend nearly $30 million to retain a private security firm to assist with the relocations. GardaWorld Federal Services and a subsidiary signed a one-year $29.4 million deal with Chicago on Sept. 12.
Brandon said during a press conference he would “never tolerate the violation of anyone’s human rights” in his first public comments on the nearly $30 million contract.
“My administration has had very thorough conversations with GardaWorld,” Johnson said via the Chicago Tribune. “And so, all those allegations that have been presented, I take into consideration all of those dynamics.”
Three buses of about 50 people arrived at the loading zone during Johnson’s press conference. One came from Del Rio, one came from El Paso, and one arrived from Laredo, all Texas cities, per the Chicago Tribune. Two buses that arrived over the weekend came from El Paso were the first from that city to arrive in Chicago since December 2022.
Immigrants who have arrived since Saturday were dropped off at police stations throughout Chicago as they wait for placement in one of the city’s 21 city-run shelters. As of the end of August, 1,576 immigrants were living in Chicago police stations, and another 418 were sleeping inside O’Hare International Airport, according to city data.
When asked Wednesday about the deadline to move immigrants to permanent camps before the winter, Johnson said, “We’re moving migrants into brick-and-mortar and at a rate that is expedited.”
“We are a sanctuary state. We are a sanctuary county, a sanctuary city,” Johnson said. “You know, this is a dynamic that we’re all working to solve. And you know, the political dynamics that have provoked this moment, it’s incumbent upon all of us to continue our work and the sacrifices that we all have to make to ensure that families get a chance to resettle and really experience comfort here.”
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In protest to what they say is a lack of attention to the border crisis, Texas and Arizona have sent buses of immigrants to Democratic-run cities like Chicago, Washington, D.C., and New York City. By Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R-TX) count, he has bused almost 42,000 immigrants across the United States since launching the “border bus mission” in April 2022.
In May, the Chicago City Council announced that $51 million in financial aid from the budget surplus would go toward addressing the influx of immigrants bused from Texas, and the announcement received heavy backlash from Republicans.