Texas has started flying immigrants to Chicago after the city voted to fine and impound buses that arrive from the Lone Star State without advanced notice as it struggles to handle the influx of migrants.
On Tuesday, a private plane carrying roughly 100 immigrant passengers landed in a private wing at O’Hare International Airport from El Paso shortly after 7 p.m. without warning, a spokesperson for the city of Chicago confirmed in a statement to local news outlets.
Airport police received a call after the plane landed but by the time police arrived, two people who were assisting the immigrants on the flight had already fled the scene, the spokesperson said.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) confirmed Wednesday that he will be including air travel as part of his effort to transport migrants to Chicago after the city imposed new rules for bus operators, which include drivers using designated drop-off areas.
“Sanctuary city Chicago started obstructing and targeting our busing mission. Texas will now expand our operation to include flights to Chicago,” Abbott said on X, formerly Twitter. “Until Biden steps up to secure the border, we will continue to provide overwhelmed Texas border towns with much-needed relief.”
The post also included video of apparent migrants boarding a private plane.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has said that the new rules for buses are designed to help ensure that people aren’t abandoned in remote locations with no one waiting to assist them.
“They’re just dropping off people anywhere. Do you all understand how raggedy and how evil that is?” Johnson told reporters on Tuesday. “You’re just going to put people on a bus and just take them somewhere and drop them off in the middle of the night? And then you want to hold us accountable for something that’s happening down at the border? It’s sickening.”
The city has blamed border states like Texas for the deaths of migrants who it said are not given access to sanitation, drinking water or food before they are packed on buses and driven across the country.
“This carelessness directly contributed to the death of a three-year-old girl in September of this year and may continue to have devastating effects,” the city said Monday while addressing the more recent death of a 5-year-old boy who suffered a medical emergency at a migrant shelter in Chicago, according to a report from NBC 5 Chicago.
The city said that as of Thursday, roughly 26,000 “individuals seeking asylum” have arrived via buses from Texas. Currently, Chicago is sheltering 13,992 new arrivals at 27 temporary shelters. The city’s “Welcoming City Ordinance” offers various protections for undocumented immigrants.
Chicago’s City Council had recently considered a referendum that could revoke Chicago’s Sanctuary City status. It ultimately voted last week against asking voters to decide.
Representatives for Abbott and Johnson did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday.