Chicago's mayor has warned that thousands of migrants could arrive in the city ahead of the Democratic National Convention.
While earlier estimates of more than 20,000 migrants arriving in the city appear to have subsided, Mayor Brandon Johnson's administration still expects several hundred migrants to arrive before the convention — and they are arriving by bus, a claim confirmed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's office.
“Until President Biden and Border Czar Harris step in and do their job to secure the border, Texas will continue to bus migrants to safe cities across the country like Chicago to provide much-needed relief to our overburdened border cities,” Abbott’s office told the Daily Mail this week.
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Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson speaks during a news conference at the United Center ahead of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois. (Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“We realistically expect between 750 and 1,000 new arrivals next week, if that happens,” said Andre Gordillo, director of the New Vicenos migrant assistance programme.
The majority of immigrants entering Chicago are transported to the city by the Texas state government, which seeks to ease the economic and social burdens caused by rampant illegal immigration to border cities.
Chicago's deputy mayor for immigration, Beatriz Ponce de Leon, warned last month that the city could receive as many as 25,000 immigrants ahead of the conference.
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Migrants, mostly from Central America, wait in line to cross the border at the Gateway International Bridge into the United States from Matamoros, Mexico, to Brownsville, Texas, on June 4, 2024. (Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images)
She backed away from that bleak prediction on Tuesday, telling reporters that such a massive influx was no longer expected.
“We do not have any credible intelligence at this point that indicates there will be a significant increase in the number of buses coming from Texas,” Ponce de Leon told the Chicago Tribune on Tuesday.
The extremely low numbers of expected arrivals are a relief to city officials as Chicago prepares to host the Democratic National Convention next week.
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A banner bearing the image of Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Democratic presidential candidate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz outside the United Center, site of the Democratic National Convention. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz are scheduled to accept the Democratic nominations for president and vice president at the convention.
Addressing the country's rampant illegal immigration problem remains one of the most important issues for American voters across the country.
