Chicago mayor scraps trip to border, sends aides instead

Mayor Brandon Johnson was scheduled to visit the southern border Tuesday
Johnson canceled his plan to focus on 'immediate urgency' of migrant crisis
A small group will still go to establish 'better lines of communication'

Updated: Oct 17, 2023 / 01:06 PM CDT

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – MAY 09: Immigrants from Venezuela rest in the lobby of a police station where they have been staying with other migrant families since their arrival to the city on May 09, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot issued a state of emergency on Tuesday amid a surge in migrant arrivals which began in August 2022 when the first group of immigrants were bused from Texas to Chicago by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. According to Lightfoot’s office, more than 8,000 migrants have arrived in Chicago since last year, with the city currently reaching “a breaking point.” About 500 migrants have reportedly been living in the lobbies of police precincts around the city where they sleep on the floors and rely on food donations. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

(NewsNation) — Chicago Brandon Johnson canceled his trip to the southern border, citing a need to focus on the “immediate urgency” of Chicago’s migrant crisis, according to a statement from his office.

Scheduled to leave Tuesday, Johnson was going to lead a small delegation of city, state, faith and philanthropic leaders to the border. His office announced he would not join the group Monday.

“With the weather growing colder and hundreds of migrants arriving each day, it is more important than ever that every stakeholder at the state, federal and local level work diligently to address this challenge, while continuing to meet the needs of Chicago and Illinois residents,” the statement from the mayor’s office said.

Instead, Deputy Mayor of Immigration Beatriz Ponce de Leon will lead the delegation to the Texas cities of El Paso, San Antonio, McAllen and Brownsville.

The group will gather information “about ways to alleviate the financial and operations challenges in both Chicago and at the border” by “establishing better lines of communication” with officials and nonprofit groups, according to the statement.

Johnson’s decision to scrap his plan comes after he previously told reporters he would visit the border himself.

Two weeks ago in a news conference, Johnson said: “I am going to the border as soon as possible.” As recently as last week, Johnson’s Deputy Chief of Staff Cristina Pacione-Zayas said his trip was still on.

Now, racing against the dropping temperatures, Johnson will remain in Chicago to focus on adding shelter space to support the thousands of migrants scattered around the city.

“The Mayor, along with senior aides and key operations personnel, will stay in Chicago to address the immediate urgency of adding shelter space to house thousands of new arrivals sleeping in police stations, airports or outside,” the statement on the border trip read.

City officials are debating setting up large winterized tent camps to house the thousands of migrants sitting in limbo in Chicago, but finding viable locations has been taking longer than Johnson’s administration had hoped.

As of Friday, over 3,567 migrants are living at O’Hare International Airport and police stations across the city, with another 11,043 living in city shelters, according to city data.

City data shows Chicago has welcomed fore than 18,500 migrants since August 2022.