Current:Home > StocksTexas begins flying migrants from US-Mexico border to Chicago, with 1st plane carrying 120 people -ProfitLogic
Texas begins flying migrants from US-Mexico border to Chicago, with 1st plane carrying 120 people
View
Date:2025-04-14 05:44:39
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas began flying migrants from the U.S.-Mexico border to Chicago on Wednesday, a week after the city took a tougher stance on the buses that Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has been sending north since last year.
The first flight of 120 migrants arrived in the afternoon, according to Abbott’s office.
The governor directed state officials to begin busing migrants to Democratic-led cities starting in April 2022. Over 80,000 migrants have since been relocated through the effort as part of the governor’s multi-pronged border security mission, known as Operation Lone Star, including 23,000 to Chicago.
Chicago’s city council voted last week to toughen penalties on bus operators that don’t unload passengers at a designated arrival location or fill out city paperwork. The city has said operators began trying to drop people off in neighboring cities to avoid penalties including fines, towing or impoundment.
Concerns have arisen about the living conditions and medical care provided for asylum-seekers arriving in Chicago, spotlighted by the death last weekend of a 5-year-old boy living at a temporary shelter for migrants.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office did not immediately reply to a request for comment about the flights.
Abbot spokesman Andrew Mahaleris said in a statement that the decision to start sending migrants there by plane was made because Johnson is not living up to Chicago’s “Welcoming City” ordinance and “targeting migrant buses from Texas.”
“Until President Biden steps up and does his job to secure the border, Texas will continue taking historic action to help our local partners respond to this Biden-made crisis,” Mahaleris said.
Abbott’s multibillion-dollar border effort has also included stringing razor wire along the frontier, installing buoy barriers in the Rio Grande and deploying more officers.
Earlier this week, Abbott signed a measure allowing police to arrest migrants who cross the U.S. border illegally and authorizing local judges to order them out of the country.
veryGood! (14)
Related
- A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
- Houston’s Mayor Asks EPA to Probe Contaminants at Rail Site Associated With Nearby Cancer Clusters
- Kesha and Dr. Luke Reach Settlement in Defamation Lawsuit After 9 Years
- In a New Policy Statement, the Nation’s Physicists Toughen Their Stance on Climate Change, Stressing Its Reality and Urgency
- Meet first time Grammy nominee Charley Crockett
- FDA approves new drug to protect babies from RSV
- The Voice Announces 2 New Coaches for Season 25 in Surprise Twist
- At least 3 dead in Pennsylvania flash flooding
- The 401(k) millionaires club keeps growing. We'll tell you how to join.
- Avalanche of evidence: How a Chevy, a strand of hair and a pizza box led police to the Gilgo Beach suspect
Ranking
- Can Bill Belichick turn North Carolina into a winner? At 72, he's chasing one last high
- Inside Clean Energy: Des Moines Just Set a New Bar for City Clean Energy Goals
- Cartoonists say a rebuke of 'Dilbert' creator Scott Adams is long overdue
- 39 Products To Make the Outdoors Enjoyable if You’re an Indoor Person
- Biden administration makes final diplomatic push for stability across a turbulent Mideast
- Girlfriend Collective's Massive Annual Sale Is Here: Shop Sporty Chic Summer Essentials for Up to 50% Off
- ExxonMobil Shareholders to Company: We Want a Different Approach to Climate Change
- For Farmworkers, Heat Too Often Means Needless Death
Recommendation
Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
Dutch Court Gives Shell Nine Years to Cut Its Carbon Emissions by 45 Percent from 2019 Levels
Delta Air Lines pilots approve contract to raise pay by more than 30%
Why Brexit's back in the news: Britain and the EU struck a Northern Ireland trade deal
B.A. Parker is learning the banjo
As Big Energy Gains, Can Europe’s Community Renewables Compete?
Pollinator-Friendly Solar Could be a Win-Win for Climate and Landowners, but Greenwashing is a Worry
Wealthy Nations Continue to Finance Natural Gas for Developing Countries, Putting Climate Goals at Risk