Democratic politicians in Chicago, which has been declared a sanctuary city, promised to welcome all migrants that had begun arriving on buses from Texas.
But an investigation by local WGN 9 revealed many migrants who arrived on Wednesday were quietly relocated to a hotel in a neighboring county without advanced warning to its Republican mayor.
“I am concerned neither the village administrator nor I were told about this,” Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso told WGN.
“We want to know: Why Burr Ridge?”
Earlier this week, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) criticized Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) for not providing her advanced warning about the first migrant bus he sent.
“There could be a level of coordination and cooperation, but he chooses to to do none of those things and instead tries to send human beings — not cargo, not freight — human beings across the country to an uncertain destination,” Lightfoot said after the first bus of 50 migrants arrived in her city on Sunday.
On Wednesday, a second bus with 75 more migrants arrived in Chicago.
In February 2021, Lightfoot signed the “Welcoming City” ordinance into law that protects undocumented immigrants by closing loopholes that allowed local police to work with ICE.
Cook County, where Chicago is located, also considers itself a sanctuary to illegal immigrants, but WGN notes that the Burr Ridge hotel the new migrants were moved to is in neighboring DuPage County.
Mayor Grasso said he would work toward securing the border and “defunding sanctuary cities” while campaigning for the 2022 GOP nomination for Illinois’ 6th Congressional District. He lost to Keith Pekau, an Air Force veteran and mayor of nearby Orland Park.
The Burr Ridge mayor said he only became aware of the migrants’ arrival after residents began notifying village officials. The 11,000-person suburb is known for its rolling hills and luxurious residences.
On Thursday morning, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) called Abbot’s actions “disgusting” and said the Texas governor was “treating them like cattle” by “putting them on busses and sending them wherever he wants to send them.”
However, he did not mention the Chicago arrivals relocation.
Abbott and Arizona Gov. Pete Ducey (R) began sending migrants who arrived at the U.S. southern border to Washington D.C.’s Union Station in April after months of inaction from the Biden administration. He has since sent buses to New York City and Chicago as well.
