(The Center Square) – The city of Rockford saw more than 350 non-citizen migrants arrive on New Year’s Eve, leading some to call on state officials to get the issue under control.
Chicago has seen over 25,000 migrants arrive since August 2022, which has left many communities in need of help and several others refusing to take part in sheltering those arrivals.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said the city will not end its sanctuary status but recently has called on the Biden administration for help.
“Chicago will always be a welcoming city, but we need collaboration at all levels of government and our federal partners to provide the necessary coordination and resources so that cities like Chicago, Denver and New York have what is needed to do this crucial work,” Johnson said.
The city of Chicago recently approved an ordinance allowing buses of migrants to be impounded if certain requirements are not met. That has led to private jets carrying migrants arriving at area airports and buses dropping off non-citizens in cities outside of Chicago.
Those who arrived in Rockford Sunday evening were quickly ushered onto buses and sent to Chicago for shelter and services, as Rockford was given little notice about the arrivals.
State Sen. Andrew Chesney, R-Freeport, told The Center Square that police did the right thing in getting these arrivals out of Rockford.
“Winnebago Sheriff Gary Caruana and his department are to be commended for their quick response in correctly rerouting these migrants to Chicago,” Chesney said.
Chesney blames failed policies for not ending the state’s sanctuary status.
“Their arrival … is a direct consequence to the weak border policies of the Biden Administration and the ill-thought-out sanctuary state designation made by Governor JB Pritzker and his Democrat allies in the Illinois Legislature,” Chesney said in a statement.
The people of Illinois are becoming fed up, Chesney told The Center Square.
“People do not like this. When you start to siphon off resources from the citizens to the migrants, people do not like it,” Chesney said. “The best health care that J.B. Pritzker delivers to people in Illinois is to non-citizens and migrants. They all have better healthcare than virtually every citizen.”
City and state funds to deal with the crisis have totaled nearly $700 million in the past year.
