Chicago Leaders Brace for as Many as 25,000 New Migrants Ahead of DNC

Chicago is bracing for as many as 25,000 migrants to arrive by bus ahead of the Democratic National Convention, city leaders said Tuesday.

The high-end estimate from Deputy Mayor of Immigration Beatriz Ponce de León came as Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration defended its policy of evicting migrants who stay in city shelters longer than 60 days. That removal policy could be much needed if Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott holds true on promises to send Chicago many more migrants in the next few weeks in order to try to make the migrant crisis a Democratic problem, she argued.

“We need that cushion of available beds. We need to be prepared for any growing number,” Ponce de León told aldermen at a Tuesday meeting of the City Council Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights.

The “fully expected” surge would be in sharp contrast with the current migrant count. The number of people living in city migrant shelters has steadily declined for months — down from around 15,000 in December to 5,667 Monday — and costs have fallen too.

But leaders have long feared the possibility of a pre-DNC spike in buses and planes like the ones that have carried over 45,000 migrants to Chicago over the past two years. Those worries only grew last week when Abbott touted the effort at the Republican National Convention.

“Those buses will continue to roll until we finally secure our border,” Abbott said.

Ponce de León added that the city’s concerns about the massive influx “is all speculation.” For now, President Joe Biden’s June executive order limiting asylum-seeker arrivals is sharply curtailing the border crossings that ultimately led people to Chicago, she said.

But if Biden’s policy were lifted by his administration or struck down by judges hearing ongoing legal challenges, the buses would surely increase, she added.

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In the event of a surge before and during the convention, which starts Aug. 19, the city would first house new arrivals with its roughly 5,000 available beds, Ponce de León said. If that’s not enough, a mix of city, county, state and federal funding would open several “just-in-time” shelters,” she added. “Everything to be able to open these beds very quickly is beginning to fall into place,” Ponce de León said.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration announced earlier this month that it would open two new shelters capable of housing 1,700 migrants, but downplayed the timing ahead of the DNC.

The city has spent $434 million paying vendors for migrant services over the last two years, according to its website. {snip}

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