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Texas officials are vowing to continue busing and flying migrants to liberal cities like Chicago in protest of Biden border policies, and that has officials in the Windy City preparing for an influx of up to 25,000 migrants during the Democratic National Convention next month.
"Until President Biden and Border Czar Harris step up and do their jobs to secure the border, Texas will continue busing migrants to sanctuary cities across the country like Chicago to provide much-needed relief to our overwhelmed border towns," a spokesperson for Texas governor Greg Abbott told the San Antonio Current on Friday.
At the Republican National Convention earlier this month, Abbott hammered the Biden administration for its border policies.
"When Joe Biden and Kamala Harris refused to even come to Texas and to see the border crisis that they created, I took the border to them," Abbott said. "I began busing illegal immigrants to Washington, D.C., and we’ve continued busing migrants to sanctuary cities across the entire country,” he told the crowd. “Those buses will continue to roll until we finally secure our border."
Chicago officials believe these threats could translate into between 20,000 and 25,000 migrants arriving during the DNC, set to take place between August 19 and 22, Chicago’s deputy mayor for immigration Beatriz Ponce de León told Axios.
"It depends on how many people are crossing the border,” she added. “Right now there is a slowdown because of the [Biden] executive order that puts limits on how many people can cross and ask for asylum, but that is being challenged in court."
The Chicago official said they’re keeping 5,000 city shelter beds open in preparation and could activate even more if need be.
At the end of 2023, the city was taking in about 2,000 migrants a week, at a cost of about $1.5m a day.
Abbott began busing migrants to liberal cities in April of 2022, arguing it was a way to shift "the burdens imposed by open-border advocates.”
Since then, the state has transported over 100,000 people to cities like New York, Chicago, Denver, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., at a cost to the state of over $148m as of January.
Chicago officials have accused the program of employing drivers who don’t follow city rules on dropping off passengers and failing to coordinate with the mayor’s office.
"It’s so disturbing that [Abbott] is unwilling to coordinate with mayors," Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson said last month. "If the governor of Texas decides to continue on his diabolical rage, there are limitations to what we are able to do as a city … I wish he had a heart. I don’t know. Maybe he needs a visit to the Wizard of Oz."
