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Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson pleaded Wednesday for the federal government to take a bigger role in tackling the migrant crisis, warning that the Windy City and other parts of the US are being overwhelmed by new arrivals.
“Without real, significant investment from our federal government, it won’t just be the city of Chicago that won’t be able to maintain this mission,” Johnson told CNN.
“It’s the entire country that is now at stake.”
Johnson, 47, explained that he’s asked the Biden administration to set aside $15 billion worth of resources to address the issue.
Biden requested $13.6 billion for border security as part of a $106 billion supplemental aid package he unveiled in October that also included assistance for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.
Negotiations over that legislation are currently stalled in the Senate, with no vote in prospect until after the new year, if ever.
“We have roughly 15,000 people living in shelters, temporary shelters, here in Chicago,” Johnson explained. “Nearly 27 shelters total. And 4,500 children in our Chicago public schools system, providing health care, also making sure that we are screening individuals as they come through the city of Chicago, providing, again, on-site vaccinations at all of our shelters. And this certainly has been a remarkable challenge that my administration has had to face.”
In addition to more resources, Johnson said Wednesday more “coordination” was needed between cities, counties, states and the federal government.
“Since taking office, we’ve had an uncoordinated approach,” the mayor said. “And what I have worked to do, instead of having chaos, is provide some structure and calm around the situation. And without significant federal support, this is not sustainable.”
While Johnson did not mention President Biden, he did call out Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has dispatched busloads of migrants from border regions to so-called “sanctuary cities,” including Chicago, New York and Washington, DC.
“What Governor Abbott is doing is, quite frankly, it’s reckless,” the mayor said. “… We recognize that there are challenges, significant challenges at the border, and we do need real substantive immigration reform and policies that allow us to have a structure and a pathway to citizenship.
“But again, sending buses all over the state of Illinois and all over the country is reckless and, quite frankly, is dangerous.”
In contrast to Johnson, New York City Mayor Eric Adams has emerged as one of Biden’s loudest critics on the Democratic side over the migration surge.
“The federal government said to New York City: ‘We’re not going to do our job — you do our job. You take care of 4,000 people a week, Eric, you and your team,’” Adams lamented to reporters Tuesday.
“Those who should have been helping us in government — every step of the way, [they] just critiqued us,” the mayor added. “I’m not seeing the light at the end of the tunnel from the federal government.”
Over the past year-and-a-half, more than 161,000 migrants have arrived in the Big Apple, according to city officials — including about 4,000 who arrived last week alone. More than 68,000 remain in city care, straining Gotham’s finances.
Since the start of September 2022, more than 20,000 migrants have arrived in Chicago, according to the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications.
During fiscal year 2023, which ended Sept. 30, more than 2.47 million encounters with migrants were reported along the US-Mexico border. More than 242,000 asylum-seekers were apprehended in November alone, according to data from US Customs and Border Protection.
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