Asylum seekers get off a bus at 800 S. Desplaines St., Friday, Nov. 24, 2023.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Hours after a plane from Texas carrying 355 migrants arrived early Sunday morning in Rockford, Mayor Brandon Johnson repeated his plea for more federal support to address the ongoing migrant crisis.
The plane landed about 1 a.m. at Chicago Rockford International Airport, then the migrants onboard were immediately put on buses headed for Chicago, escorted by Winnebago County sheriff deputies, the city of Rockford said on Facebook.
They were taken to Chicago’s “landing zone,” a Facebook post said, but Rockford officials did not share an exact address. A city spokesperson declined to answer specific questions about the flight, including who chartered it and where in Texas it came from.
In a statement, the city of Chicago said a private Boeing 777 from San Antonio, coordinated by Eastern Airlines, landed in Rockford carrying 350 people seeking asylum.
After landing, the passengers were put on eight buses chartered by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, according to a city of Chicago spokesperson. The busses dropped off the migrants in the surrounding suburbs and are now making their way to Chicago via trains and other means, the spokesperson said.
Rockford and Winnebago County officials learned Saturday the plane was headed to the city. The Facebook post said the plane was landing in Rockford because of Chicago’s new ordinance cracking down on buses bringing migrants to the city.
The Chicago City Council passed new rules that allow officials to fine bus companies that disregard the city’s drop-off protocols. Only two buses can arrive each hour at the landing zone, at 800 S. Desplaines St., between the hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Rockford officials said on Facebook the city is not aware of any other flights coming to Rockford from Texas, but they remain in contact with the Texas Department of Emergency Management.
Earlier in December, migrants arrived in Chicago on a privately chartered flight from Texas. More than 120 people were on that flight from El Paso.
Abbott has begun redirecting buses and planes to cities near Chicago because of the new requirements, according to the Rockford Facebook post.
Abbott began busing migrants from Texas in 2022 in response to President Joe Biden’s move to end Title 42, a Trump-era policy that allowed for migrants crossing the border to quickly be returned to Mexico.
In an appearance Sunday morning on “Meet the Press,” Johnson reiterated the need for more help from the Biden administration. He was joined by Denver’s mayor, Mike Johnston.
“Now [Abbott] has taken on this very dangerous task of placing individuals on airplanes and flying them into our various cities,” Johnson said. “This is certainly a matter of not just our national security, but it’s the type of chaos that this governor is committed to administering.”
When asked about the death of Jean Carlos Martinez, the 5-year-old boy who recently died in a Pilsen shelter, Johnson criticized the Texas governor for not providing health screenings and vaccinations at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Johnson, Johnston and Eric Adams, New York City’s mayor, joined together this past week to call for more federal support. Their three cities have received hundreds of thousands of new arrivals since Abbott began sending migrants and refugees to cities with Democratic mayors.
As of 8 a.m. Sunday, 14,585 new arrivals are staying at 27 shelters, according to the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications. About 572 are awaiting placement, including 241 at O’Hare International Airport and 278 at the city’s landing zone.
