Mayor Brandon Johnson appeared on CNN Wednesday morning, renewing his call for more resources for the migrant crisis in Chicago and across the country plus greater cooperation among elected officials after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s latest moves to skirt city rules for migrant buses.
The appearance comes just 10 days after a migrant child staying at a city shelter died. Johnson took the opportunity on national television to take shots at Abbott for his “reckless” handling of migrants arriving in that state.
Over 30,000 migrants have arrived in Chicago since Abbott began busing them in August 2022. Many have found housing or moved out of the city, but around 15,000 are in city shelters and providing for them has been a “remarkable challenge,” Johnson said.
Those challenges came to a head on Dec. 17 with the death of Jean Carlos Martinez Rivero. The 5-year-old was staying at a shelter where migrants and advocates have complained of unsanitary conditions.
Johnson didn’t answer pointed questions about the boy’s death and instead deflected to Abbott’s “reckless” handling of migrants at the border.
That includes Abbott not coordinating with Chicago on when, where and how many migrants are coming.
“Since taking office, we’ve had an uncoordinated approach,” Johnson said on CNN. “And what I’ve worked to do instead of having chaos is provide some structure and calm around this situation, and without significant federal support. This is not sustainable.”
In November, the city instituted rules for buses ferrying migrants to the city to ensure they arrived at a designated location during weekday business hours.
But after the city began citing buses for not following those rules and impounded one bus, buses carrying migrants began dropping them off outside the city.
Abbott also sent a charter plane with about 100 migrants on board. That plane was the first of more to come, he said.
Johnson cited these moves on the part of the border state governor for causing “the amount of turmoil and stress” seen in Chicago today.
Johnson has also blamed Abbott for sending “sick” migrants to Chicago, although health care providers have said illnesses seen among migrants are caused by the overcrowded conditions.
Over the last year, the city has grappled with a range of hurdles as public health advocates raise alarms about shelter conditions and migrants sleep on floors of police stations or churches converted into shelters.
“We’re talking about individuals who have suffered miles, thousands of miles of treachery, quite frankly, to get to the border,” Johnson said. “And so what we’ve seen ... is that lack of coordination has caused tremendous stress.”
