CHICAGO (NewsNation) — After months of speculating busloads of migrants would be sent to Chicago during the Democratic National Convention by GOP Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, city officials say they are no longer convinced any new arrivals will be sent.
The Chicago Department of Family and Support Services says because fewer migrants are crossing into the U.S. illegally at the southern border in recent months, it doesn’t anticipate any buses full of migrants rolling into Chicago next week.
It credited the decrease in crossings to President Joe Biden’s executive order that implemented restrictions for asylum-seekers if more than 2,500 people crossed a day.
Last month, Chicago Deputy Mayor of Immigration Beatriz Ponce de León told aldermen the city could receive up to 25,000 migrants sent by Abbott during the DNC.
On Thursday, a spokesman for Abbott told NewsNation that fewer illegal crossings into Texas means fewer buses departing the southern border for sanctuary cities like Chicago.
However, rather than crediting Biden’s executive order to protect the southern border, Abbott spokesman Andrew Mahaleris claimed illegal border crossings have decreased by 85% thanks to “our historic border mission.”
Border encounters drop significantly
The number of migrants encountered by Border Patrol dipped to 56,408, according to CBP, down from the 250,000 people agents encountered in December of last year. Border Patrol encounters have decreased each month since February, according to CBP data.
Under Operation Lone Star, Texas officials allocated more than $11 billion in taxpayer dollars to border security. Under the plan, members of the Texas National Guard and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers were sent to the border while a portion of the funding was used to transport migrants to sanctuary cities.
Mahaleris said while fewer buses are leaving Texas, Abbott has not committed to stop sending migrants north altogether.
“Until the Biden-Harris Administration steps up and does their job to secure the border, Texas will continue busing migrants to sanctuary cities like Chicago to help our local partners respond to this border crisis,” Mahaleris said in a statement to NewsNation.
Both Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and a spokesperson for Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said Abbott’s decision to send migrants to Chicago was politically motivated.
Since the summer of 2022, Abbott has sent nearly 37,000 migrants to Chicago, the Pritzker’s office said.
Chicago has shelter beds for migrants
Last month, Johnson said that the city was prepared to provide beds for up to 15,000 migrants if need be. As of this week, the city’s migrant shelter population is at 5,592, less than half of what it was when the mayor instituted a 60-day limit on shelter stays.
The city is currently operating 17 shelters and has several thousand vacant beds.
Brian Berg, a spokesman for DFFS, told NewsNation that city officials do not have any evidence that any buses would be coming to the Chicago area.
City officials said that while they are not expecting the migrant traffic during the DNC they once were, Chicago remains committed to welcoming asylum-seekers with dignity and compassion. Berg said that if additional space is needed if more migrants are sent than expected, new temporary emergency shelters can be activated on short notice.
However, no buses have arrived in Chicago since Christmas Day of last year. Just one bus was sent to a suburban community in June.
Asked last month what the city’s strategy would be if buses from the southern border arrived during the DNC, Johnson pointed to the city’s partnership with county and state organizations that provide housing for migrants.
But he added that he hopes Abbott continues his pattern of not sending buses.
The Chicago mayor, who has called Abbott’s actions reckless and dangerous in the past, said at a news conference that he hopes Abbott “finds Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior” and doesn’t send more asylum-seekers.
