Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is continuing to transport illegal migrants to Chicago despite a new city ordinance targeting busing, with eight busloads heading into the sanctuary city Sunday morning after hundreds of asylum seekers were flown in overnight, WGN9 reported.
350 migrants landed late Saturday night in Rockford, an Illinois city about 90 minutes from Chicago, according to WGN9.
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The chartered jumbo jet flew from San Antonio, Texas, and touched down at Rockford International Airport around 1:00 a.m., after which the migrants were loaded onto buses, also charted by Abbott.
Some migrants were dropped off in suburbs along the way, but the caravan had not yet reached Chicago as of early Sunday afternoon, city officials told the local outlet.
Abbott has been continuously busing border-crossers to sanctuary cities around the country, including Washington DC, New York City, Philadelphia, Chicago, Denver, and Los Angeles.
An early November Breitbart News report tallied the total number of migrants shipped from Texas at about 63,000, based on numbers provided by Abbott.
Texas began busing migrants to sanctuary cities to provide overwhelmed border towns with vital relief.
Over 12,500 to DC
Over 22,600 to NYC
Over 18,000 to Chicago
Over 3,200 to Philadelphia
Over 5,700 to Denver
Over 1,100 to LA— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) November 6, 2023
The Republican governor announced that he would begin chartering flights to aid in the migrant relocation process on December 20. The first flight was from El Paso to Chicago, carrying 120 passengers.
Sanctuary city Chicago started obstructing and targeting our busing mission.
Texas will now expand our operation to include flights to Chicago.
Until Biden steps up to secure the border, we will continue to provide overwhelmed Texas border towns with much-needed relief. pic.twitter.com/kRoK8KBpJ2
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) December 20, 2023
The move comes after Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) implemented a new city ordinance targeting buses dropping off migrants without a permit or outside of approved hours and locations, WTTW reported. The recent rule includes a fine and the authority to impound or tow buses.
Rockford officials made a statement acknowledging that the migrant flight had landed in their city, which is not a designated sanctuary city like Chicago, due to Mayor Johnson’s new ordinance.
“As many people may know, the City of Chicago recently adopted an ordinance with certain requirements related to the arrival of migrants,” the statement said, according to the outlet. “As a result, the governor of Texas has redirected buses and planes to other nearby cities.”
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Johnson took to X to complain, writing that there was “no communication from Texas, and the City of Chicago was alerted by authorities in Rockford regarding the flight.”
“Upon landing, asylum seekers were placed on buses chartered by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and dropped in various surrounding suburbs, left to find their way to the city,” he continued. “This is the second recorded instance of the Texas governor transporting asylum seekers via private plane.”
Upon landing, asylum seekers were placed on buses chartered by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and dropped in various surrounding suburbs, left to find their way to the city.
This is the second recorded instance of the Texas governor transporting asylum seekers via private plane.
— Mayor Brandon Johnson (@ChicagosMayor) December 31, 2023
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker (D) asked non-sanctuary communities outside of Chicago to offload some of the incoming migrants in September, offering $41.5 million in grants to pay for shelter, food, legal support and health care.
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