Chicago officials are demanding help from the federal government 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.
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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.
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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.”
The concerns and complaints aren’t just coming from Chicago. In suburban Aurora, the city council is holding a special meeting Friday to discuss unplanned migrant arrivals. Five buses have arrived in Aurora this week.
