As nearly 50,000 asylum seekers arrived at the southern border in just the last four days, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson joined up with two of his counterparts to once again press for additional federal assistance in the face of the ongoing situation.
Johnson was joined by New York Mayor Eric Adams and Denver Mayor Mike Johnson to work on coordinating strategies amid the steady stream of migrants, who are being transported from Texas to numerous cities across the U.S.
“We need the federal government to lean in and provide more financial assistance,” Brandon Johnson said. All of our cities have reached the point where we are either close to capacity or nearly out of room.”
Federal officials say that a record number of migrants crossed the border within the last week, with nearly 50,000 doing so in a four-day span.
Officials in Chicago, New York and Denver are anticipating even more arrivals in coming days.
“We expect the surge to intensify in the coming days and weeks,” Adams said. “We are calling for a federal declaration of emergency, financial support and a national resettlement strategy.”
According to the latest data released by the city, Chicago is housing more than 14,000 asylum seekers in 27 shelters.
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“The public good is already stressed,” Johnson said.
In all, the three mayors said that they have seen more than 80,000 asylum seekers arrive since Aug. 2022.
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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s administration has also begun to charter private flights to transport asylum seekers to northern cities, with a plane recently arriving unannounced at O’Hare International Airport, the flight crew fleeing the plane as soon as it landed.
New requirements imposed by Chicago on bus arrivals have also gone into effect, with some buses stopping in suburban communities rather than arriving in Chicago itself, causing havoc for many municipalities.
"The city of Chicago is moving rapidly to find shelter for asylum seekers arriving from the border. In recent days, multiple rogue buses arrived over the Christmas holiday weekend carrying as many as 500 asylum seekers per day, and dropping them in random locations across the Chicagoland area in violation of safety protocols established by the city," the mayor's office said in a statement.
According to officials, 95 buses have been cited for violating a city ordinance mandating specific requirements for drop-offs of asylum seekers. Two buses have also been impounded.
Johnson said Chicago is making additional requests for resources and beds for new arrivals, and the city is reaching out for more federal investments to assist with the increases in arrivals, according to the release.
All of the latest occurrences have led the mayors to renew their calls for additional federal support.
“We need the federal government to invest, but we also need to make sure the governor of Texas does not take his animosity out on the rest of the country,” Johnson said.
