Since Joe Biden took office in 2021 and promptly rolled back all of former President Donald Trump’s successful border policies, illegal immigration has exploded. Border towns are overwhelmed, resources are stretched to the breaking point, and some governors have taken the extreme measure of bussing migrants further north to so-called sanctuary cities. Despite the fact that these cities claim to welcome migrants with open arms, when push came to shove, residents and politicians have been bemoaning the flow of people and have taken extreme measures to attempt to house and maintain the flood.
New York Mayor Eric Adams has begged the Biden Administration for help and has been loudly critical of the President’s handling of the flood of undocumented people entering his city. New York residents have also been up in arms, criticizing the city and the President for mishandling the situation. As more buses full of immigrants head north, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has taken a different approach from Eric Adams.
Johnson, who replaced the spectacularly ineffective Lori Lightfoot, has decided to attack the bus companies that southern Governors have tasked with the transportation of migrants. Johnson described the bus companies as “rogue” and has filed dozens of lawsuits claiming the companies are endangering the lives of immigrants. More than 24,400 migrants have arrived in Chicago since August of 2022, and despite the condition of the city being dangerous enough for the migrants, Johnson seeks to pin the danger on the bus companies instead.
The Chicago Tribune reported: “The care of more than 24,400 migrants who have arrived in Chicago since August 2022 has taken on heightened urgency as winter sets in, and tested the limits of how welcoming the city can be. The city has filed 55 lawsuits since it implemented new rules about when and where buses can arrive in mid-November, the Law Department said. The lawsuits address 77 total buses accused of violating the rules, and public records show at least some cases are seeking fines against the bus companies.” A city that fancies itself as welcoming to migrants, Chicago has so many that they can’t house and feed them. Instead of appealing to Biden to fix the problem at the Southern border, instead, the city is attacking innocent bus companies.
A spokesman for the city claimed that the buses were “rogue, uncoordinated” and also claimed that the buses were somehow endangering lives. The same spokesman also echoed what is now looking to largely be a lie, saying Chicago “continues to welcome asylum-seekers but the city cannot safely and efficiently shelter migrants when bus companies, contracted by the State of Texas, flagrantly violate all safety measures that the city has put in place.”
A reported 460 buses have arrived in Chicago since May, but new Mayor Johnson wants to set strict rules for drop-offs. Johnson wants two drop-offs per hour, and drop offs only from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Otherwise, he is threatening fines and potential impoundment of the offending buses. Chicago Alderman Raymond Lopez expressed what residents are feeling regarding the crises when he said: “I think what they’re worried about is that the Democratic Party vocalizes all kinds of things and then does not deliver, actually does quite the opposite.”
It is clear that residents who once claimed to welcome migrants with open arms are now fed up with the surge and are also at the breaking point with the Biden Administration. Joe Biden has created this problem, which was once limited to Southern border towns, and now that liberal America has to deal with it, many of these so-called sanctuary cities are realizing what a burden an open border can be.
