Chicago bracing for Greg Abbott to send up to 25,000 migrants to city ahead of DNC - Washington Examiner

Chicago officials are bracing for another migrant surge ahead of the Democratic National Convention. 

At a Tuesday city council meeting, officials said they were “hyper-prepared” for a surge in migrants coming via bus from Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX). Abbott has previously bussed migrants who entered Texas via the Southern border to blue cities and states.

“We have continued busing migrants to sanctuary cities all across the country. Those buses will continue to roll until we finally secure our border,” Abbott said while speaking at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last week. 

“We’ve looked at estimates of 20,000 to 25,000 people arriving,” Chicago deputy mayor for immigration Beatriz Ponce de Leon told Axios.

According to city data, the migrant crisis in Chicago peaked this summer when 2,000 people arrived in the city from Texas each week. Over 45,000 migrants have been bussed to Chicago over the past two years. Migrants who have requested asylum have permission to remain in the United States while their cases are being resolved.

While it’s unclear how many migrants Abbott would actually send as there likely would not be 25,000 who request relocation to Chicago, officials are preparing. 

City officials have been warning for over a year that Abbott would bus in large numbers of migrants to create the illusion of chaos in the city ahead of the DNC. Chicago is set to host the DNC from Aug. 19-22 at the United Center.

“It depends on how many people are crossing the border. Right now, there is a slowdown because of the executive order that puts limits on how many people can cross and ask for asylum, but that is being challenged in court,” Ponce de Leon said.

The city is intentionally leaving 5,000 shelter beds open in case of an increase in migrants. If those beds fill up, Chicago has the ability to turn over thousands of “just-in-time” beds for a 30-day stay. If those beds fill up, the state of Illinois has the authority to help, but Ponce de Leon hopes “we don’t have to get to that third level.”

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While Ponce de Leon said the possible influx “is all speculation,” she said the city still needs to be prepared in case President Joe Biden’s executive order limiting asylum-seeker arrivals is struck down by a judge and buses coming into the state increase.

“We just need to be prepared,” Ponce de Leon told reporters after the meeting. “We will be ready. We have the plan in place.”