O’HARE — Texas officials used a private jet to fly about 100 migrants to O’Hare Airport on Tuesday in what a North Side alderman called a political attack in the humanitarian crisis.
Police at O’Hare received a call about 7:15 p.m. Tuesday about the plane’s arrival, a spokesperson for Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a statement. About 100 migrants were dropped off, according to the city.
The private jet was charted by the Texas Department of Emergency Management and flew out of El Paso, Texas, according to the city.
Two unidentified people described as “handlers” fled the plane and left the airport in an Uber before officers could question them, the mayoral spokesman said. The city is working to find shelter space for the asylum seekers at the airport, the spokesman said.
Police referred questions to the Mayor’s Office.
The news was first reported Wednesday by WTTW’s Heather Cherone.
‘It’s Clearly A Political Attack’
More than 26,100 asylum seekers, many from Venezuela, have come to Chicago since August 2022, when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott began busing thousands of people to Democratic-led cities in protest of federal immigration policies.
Critics of Abbott’s actions say the governor is creating a “manufactured crisis” by sending people to the city with no coordination with local officials. Buses arriving without prior notice have left city officials scrambling to accommodate asylum seekers.
Many migrants have been dropped off at a dedicated “landing zone” near Downtown run by the city where people getting off the bus can be connected with support services as well as family and friends.
But more recently, city officials have tried to crack down on “rogue buses” that have dropped asylum seekers off late at night, when city first responders were unable to be at the landing zone or at other places in the city altogether.
City Council passed a law last week to fine and impound buses that do not follow established guidelines for dropping off migrants coming to Chicago.
How To Help Migrants
• The city has partnered with Instituto del Progreso Latino to create an Amazon wishlist where people can buy supplies for migrants.
• Anyone who wants to donate extra furniture can fill out a form requesting Chicago Furniture Bank pick it up.
• You can find volunteer and donation information on the city’s website.
• Read more: How To Help Migrants In Chicago As Winter Approaches
Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th) told Block Club Tuesday’s private jet appears to be a way for Texas officials to circumvent the new law.
“It’s absolutely despicable,” Vasquez said.
Vasquez, who chairs City Council’s Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights, said until the federal government and President Joe Biden step in, Abbott will probably continue to sabotage any attempts by Chicago officials to help the new arrivals.
“The city did the ordinance for buses, which only led to those with ill intent to get more creative,” Vasquez said. “It’s disingenuous for Abbott and other governors to say that they’re solving their problems by sending folks to Chicago when there are plenty of states between Texas and here. It’s clearly a political attack.”
Now that Texas has escalated to using private jets to send asylum seekers, city officials need to figure out how to “fine the hell out of them” so private jet charter businesses never do it again, Vasquez said.
Abbott confirmed to WTTW sending the plane was prompted by the city’s crackdown on rogue buses and called it the “first” heading to Chicago.
Tom Terrell, pastor of Albany Park’s Christ Lutheran Church, called the latest move from Texas “demonic.” Terrell’s church has helped migrants for more than a year.
“I’m incredibly frustrated that the governor of Texas has decided, rather than trying to help people arrive in their new home, to create as many difficulties and hurdles and problems as they can for them,” Terrell said.
It would be easy for Abbott to let Johnson’s administration know how many buses are coming to the city’s designated landing zone at the appropriate hours so Chicagoans can get ready to help out their new neighbors, especially in the middle of winter, Terrell said.
“But, instead, the governor is determined to punish innocent people who are just looking for a better life,” he said. “It’s demonic, and it’s pathetic. It’s just hard to believe that the governor of Texas, the leader of that state, doesn’t have a little bit of a heart for people he’s putting on buses and now jets to send here.”
Vianney Marzullo, a volunteer helping migrants at the O’Hare makeshift shelter, was alarmed to hear about a private plane being used to drop off migrants and skirting airfield regulations. She made a special delivery Tuesday night for the migrants who arrived, bringing them warm clothes, blankets and food, she said.
Texas’ government using a private plane to bring migrants to Chicago unannounced is a “big red flag,” especially with cold winter temperatures and the city strapped for space and resources for the migrants already here, Marzullo said.
“It is human trafficking,” Marzullo said. “The state of Texas is circumventing buses and trains to put people in this position, knowing what our weather is and the circumstances here. Why is Texas not reaching out in a better way?”
About 14,094 migrants are staying in city shelters as of Wednesday. The city has emptied police district stations where people and families long had slept on lobby floors and outside in tents.
There are also about 296 migrants staying at O’Hare, according to city data, though Marzullo said she thinks the number is closer to 500.
While Texas has also seen a record-breaking number of South Americans migrating through its border, volunteers and advocates say the government sending migrants to other cities using private planes with no communication is concerning and dehumanizing.
“Spending money in charting [migrants] here is not going to fix the issue; it’s not going to stop by dropping them off at random states,” Marzullo said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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