Texas paused sending migrant buses to Chicago during extreme cold
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Warming buses at the city's "landing zone" for new arrivals. Photo: Kamil Krzaczynsk/AFP via Getty Images
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott may have reached a temporary truce as temperatures dropped this week.
Driving the news: City data show no new buses brought migrants to Chicago over the past four days, when extreme cold created dangerous conditions across the region.
Why it matters: The pause suggests Texas officials may be taking seriously the dangers of sending migrants without winter gear to Chicago in January — or at least in subzero temperatures.
Catch up fast: Pritzker sent Abbott a letter on Friday warning that sending migrants to Chicago during the extreme weather could threaten lives.
- The Illinois governor also took out full-page ads in Texas papers, asking "for mercy."
The intrigue: At a Monday news conference, Pritzker said Abbott told him he'd keep sending buses "even if it is dangerous," the Sun-Times reported.
- Abbott's office told the Austin American-Statesman the same. "Instead of complaining about migrants sent from Texas, where we are also preparing to experience severe winter weather across the state, Governor Pritzker should call on his party leader to finally do his job and secure the border — something he continues refusing to do," the statement read.
Zoom out: An arctic outbreak also brought below-freezing temperatures across Texas in recent days, causing cities to open cold weather shelters and prompting the state's power grid operator to ask residents and businesses to conserve electricity.
What they're saying: "The Texas Division of Emergency Management does not answer to the Governor of Illinois, but rather to the directives of the Governor of Texas during a declared disaster," a TDEM spokesperson tells Axios Austin.
- TDEM "must pause bus travel when weather conditions make interstate travel dangerous. Border bus operations will continue as long as we have passengers wanting to voluntarily travel to the destinations being offered, and as long as weather conditions allow for safe interstate travel."
By the numbers: As of Tuesday afternoon, the city reported more than 14,600 residents in 28 shelters.
- 217 are awaiting placement, including three in police stations, 202 at O'Hare and 12 at the Harold Washington Library warming center.
- Last week, Abbott released a statement boasting that he's sent more than 100,000 migrants to sanctuary cities, including 30,800 to Chicago.
What we're watching: After a planned Tuesday meeting was postponed due to the cold, Mayor Brandon Johnson hasn't yet said when he'll coordinate a united strategy with regional mayors regarding new arrivals.
- Pritzker on Tuesday pledged another $17 million for migrant aid, including funding services in Illinois towns outside Chicago.
- Plus: Immigrant and Refugee Rights Committee chair Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th) told the Sun-Times the city will soon "rightsize" its shelter system to match Chicago's limited budget.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to add comment from the Texas Division of Emergency Management.