Mayor Brandon Johnson on Monday announced that he has changed his mind about trekking to the United State’s southern border to gather information regarding the bussing of migrants to Chicago.
The change in the decision was announced by the Johnson administration in a statement where it mentioned that the mayor would focus on “the immediate urgency of adding shelter space to house thousands of new arrivals currently sleeping in police stations, airports or outside.”
“With the weather growing colder and hundreds of migrants arriving each day, it is more important than ever that every stakeholder at the state, federal and local level work diligently to address this challenge, while continuing to meet the needs of Chicago and Illinois residents,” Johnson’s office said.
Instead, the Johnson administration plans to send a small delegation led by Deputy Mayor of Immigrant, Migrant and Refugee rights, Beatriz Ponce de Leon, to Texas cities, including El Paso, San Antonio, McAllen, and Brownsville, which have been departure points for migrants who come to Chicago. According to WTTW, Ponce de Leon’s team will be composed of “city, state, faith and philanthropic leaders.”
The team would be sent to evaluate activities at federal processing centers and transit sites led by both municipal and non-governmental organizations. Part of the agenda is to initiate conversations with local stakeholders on addressing financial and operational challenges, both in Chicago and at the border.
The Chicago delegation also plans to spread word along the border that migrants arriving here will likely face extreme winter weather, housing shortages, and “immense challenges awaiting those without verified sponsors,” CBS News reported.
Earlier this month, Johnson told reporters that he plans to travel to the Mexican border to assess the migrant crisis in Texas for himself.
“We need to go assess the situation, just like our team has gone to D.C. We need better coordination, quite frankly,” the mayor said, adding that “going to see it firsthand” was necessary.
Chicago Ald. Nicole Lee wrote a letter to Johnson to politely sound an alarm about the growing migrant crisis in the 11th Ward, which includes the Bridgeport neighborhood. She also requested a meeting with Johnson to discuss the current situation and a citywide plan for dealing with the influx of migrants that continues to flow into the city.
