Suburbs Of New York And Chicago Pump The Brakes On Migrant Buses

The mayors of New York and Chicago recently signed executive orders limiting when migrant buses directed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott can drop off migrants.

However, Abbott has circumvented those orders by directing migrant buses to stop outside the two cities and forcing migrants to take public transportation to their destination.

Now, the leaders of those areas are fighting back.

The Associated Press reports that Edison, New Jersey Mayor Sam Joshi warned he would send people back to the border if they came to his city in buses.

“Edison does not have the ability or the financial means to support migrants, and I can’t be any more clear that I am the son of immigrants,” Joshi said during a Wednesday morning interview on “Good Day New York.”

In Rockford, Illinois, located about 90 miles outside of Chicago, authorities said 355 migrants who landed on a charter flight would not be staying in the area.

Suburban areas of Chicago and New York are also making moves designed to limit when and how migrants can be dropped off. The suburb of Tinley Park, Illinois, for example, has vowed to “cite, impound or take other appropriate measures” against buses that make unannounced stops in the town.

Additionally, Broadview, a west Chicago suburb with a population of 8,000, announced it was forced to act “because the unloading of passengers in inclement or severe weather without a coordinated plan poses a significant threat to the health, safety, and welfare” of the people aboard the buses.

The moves to limit migrants from entering cities and surrounding areas come as Gov. Abbott has sent more than 80,000 migrants from Texas to Democratic-led cities since 2022. Abbott has said his actions were made partly in order to get the Biden administration to do something about the situation.

While President Joe Biden has been steadfast in saying Congress needs to solve the issue, he is considering new restrictions concerning migrants crossing the border.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson have been pleading with the Biden administration for months for federal funding and assistance to help address the crisis but have been largely rebuffed. The administration did send teams to the areas to assess their responses to the crisis, which only led to finger-pointing between the administration and the mayors’ offices.