Chicago City Wire

New Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is inheriting a mess with the city’s increasing immigrant population.

Though he has not spoken on the issue recently, Johnson’s campaign page contains a lengthy stance on immigrants including maintaining the city’s “sanctuary” policies. 

"Chicago has always been a place that immigrants, migrants and refugees have called home,” Johnson’s campaign website reads. “It is a place where migrants and refugees from all over the world – from the Jim Crow South to the furthest reaches of the globe – have come to build lives and contribute to everything that makes our city great."

Johnson also acknowledged that "For hundreds of years, regular Chicagoans have made our city a welcoming one by helping newly arriving migrants and immigrants make connections, and find jobs, housing and community, which is something we continue to do.” 

“Chicago is a sanctuary city. As such, we must always resist attempts to pit communities against each other and extend this sanctuary promise to everyone who needs it in our city – both long-time residents and newcomers alike.”

Crain’s Editorial Board said handling the immigration issue will be Johnson’s first major test. Crain’s Editorial Board is pointing out that with inheriting a city in a state of crisis Johnson will have his hands full on Day One.

“So why wasn’t the Lightfoot administration better prepared to handle this latest wave of refugees?” Crain’s Editorial Board said in an editorial. “Why have available funds not been tapped? As Hinz points out in his summation of Lightfoot’s tenure, at least part of the problem is Lightfoot’s combative leadership style.”

The editorial also noted that "This will be the first major test of Brandon Johnson’s mayoralty."  

“But with a new person about to take occupancy of the fifth floor mayor’s suite, Chicagoans who are concerned about the migrant situation have to hope the new administration will be better positioned to seek allies and to sweat the small stuff — like state funding vouchers — in order to address what’s shaping up to be a humanitarian crisis within our own city limits," according to Crain's Editorial Board. "There’s much he can learn from how his predecessor has handled this mess so far.”

Lightfoot issued an emergency declaration as the country’s southern borders opened up again following the expiration of a Covid-era rule. 

“The city of Chicago is in the midst of a national humanitarian crisis, and through a unified effort in accordance with its values as a welcoming city, Chicago is doing everything it can to respond to the urgency of this matter,” Lightfoot said.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, whose administration has sent around 8,000 immigrants to Chicago on buses, lampooned Lightfoot’s stance on the bussing from Texas to Illinois.

“As the mayor of a self-declared sanctuary city, it is ironic to hear you complain about Chicago’s struggle to deal with a few thousand illegal immigrants, which is a fraction of the record-high numbers we deal with in Texas on a regular basis. Texas border towns like Eagle Pass, Brownsville, and Laredo—and even bigger cities like El Paso—cannot handle the flood of illegal immigrants rushing across our southern border,” Abbott said in a letter, Chicago City Wire reported. “With Title 42 expulsions set to end next week, the federal government has estimated that we could have up to 13,000 illegal immigrants cross the U.S.–Mexico border every single day. Some reports indicate that there are nearly 35,000 waiting to cross into El Paso as soon as Title 42 expulsions are no longer in effect. If Chicago can’t deal with 8,000 in less than a year, how are small Texas border communities supposed to manage 13,000 in just one day?”