A City Council meeting was held in Aurora on Friday to discuss unplanned buses full of migrants arriving from Texas, which has increased in recent weeks as Chicago officials have cracked down on buses arriving outside of official arriving times.
This week, several instances in the western suburbs took place where migrants where dropped off and told to purchase Metra tickets and board a train to Chicago.
Buses had arrived in Elburn, Manhattan and Aurora, in addition to an instance in Kankakee where a bus driver erroneously told migrants they had arrived in Chicago, leading to some walking on the side of the expressway covered in blankets.
The Aurora City Council adopted a measure Friday, asking that operators inform the city about when drop-offs will happen and provide information about the bus company as well as those onboard. It is similar to one already in place in Chicago.
Approval would only be granted if the department is presented with a detailed plan on how the migrants will be dropped off, cared for, housed and fed, according to an announcement regarding the meeting.
"Persons who make unscheduled / unpermitted drop-offs will be subject to a fine, and their buses will be subject to forfeiture under the City code," the announcement continues.
Residents at Friday's meeting called the practice of dropping migrants off in suburbs with no plan to get to Chicago inhumane, saying that migrants needed to be treated with dignity and respect.
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According to officials, the proposed ordinance would help ensure the safety of migrants and refugees who are transported to to Aurora without prior arrangements.
"The City of Aurora is not equipped to handle an influx of multiple busloads of persons arriving each day, nor, given the time of year, is it acceptable for persons to simply be 'dropped off' at a Metra station with few personal items, seasonally inappropriate attire, and no access to services," officials said in the announcement. "In fact, doing so puts the health and safety of these passengers at great risk."
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Aurora's special council meeting comes as Chicago officials continue to grapple with an influx of migrants arriving on buses, and now planes, after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s administration revealed its plans to fly more migrants into the city.
The latest arrivals came to Chicago without the city knowing about it in advance, escalating an already tenuous situation with Texas officials, and incurred the ire of the City Council.
“We demand the federal government, local government, state government, work together to save lives,” Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez said.
“I support the call for additional resources from the federal government. That is essential,” Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia added.
Video shot, edited and sent to NBC 5 by Abbott’s administration shows more than 100 migrants boarding a jet in El Paso that landed in Chicago this week.
“We find ourselves in this condition because of people like the governor of Texas, are engaged in human trafficking, spending billions of dollars to cause hurt and to cause political divisions,” Garcia said.
The crisis shows no signs of slowing down.
Four buses arrived Wednesday in Chicago and another seven were expected Thursday. Right now, more than 14,000 migrants are living in 27 city shelters. Plus, another 216 migrants are living at O’Hare, awaiting placement in a temporary shelter.
“26,000 migrants have come to Chicago since last year,” Nino Brown said, a community activist. “The federal government has failed to step up to provide support to places like Chicago and New York City.”
