Plane carrying 355 Texas migrants arrives at Rockford airport

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — A plane carrying 355 migrants from Texas arrived at the Chicago Rockford International Airport early Sunday morning.

The plane, a Boeing 777, arrived just after 1 a.m. after a 2-hour and 30-minute delay at San Antonio International. At least 8 charter buses were seen on the airport tarmac.

In December, Texas began sending planeloads of migrants, in addition to buses, to Chicago and other cities with “sanctuary” policies for migrants who illegally crossed the southern border into the United States, as part of Operation Lone Star.

Tens of thousands of migrants have arrived in Chicago this year after the city declared itself a “sanctuary city” in 2021. A “sanctuary city” is a city that has pledged to accept migrants and refused to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

Rockford is not a sanctuary city.

Winnebago County authorities notify federal authorities when processing criminals without proof of citizenship. According to a 2017 interview with Sheriff Gary Caruana, his deputies don’t ask about immigration statuses during routine police contacts.

Caruana said illegal immigrants, charged with crimes, warrants, or who are wanted, would be turned over to federal authorities.

According to a City of Rockford spokesperson late Saturday, “The City of Chicago recently adopted an ordinance with certain requirements related to the arrival of migrants. As a result, the governor of Texas has redirected buses and planes to other nearby cities.”

“Earlier today, Winnebago County Sheriff Gary Caruana, Winnebago County Board Chairman Joe Chiarelli, and City of Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara were alerted that a plane carrying migrants from Texas is scheduled to land at Chicago Rockford International Airport Saturday night. Once the plane lands, those onboard will offload and immediately board buses to Chicago’s ‘ landing zone .’ Those on the plane will not exit the airport property at any time before boarding the buses,” the statement continued.

“Winnebago County Sheriff’s deputies, as well as officers from the Rockford Police Department, are on hand to make sure the process goes smoothly and ensure the safety of all involved. Sheriff’s Deputies will then be escorting buses to I-90 to allow for safe passage,” the statement added.

The Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department escorted the buses to the McHenry County Line.

According to WGN , as of 8:15 a.m., nearly seven hours later, the buses had not arrived at the Chicago landing zone.

Rockford’s Mayor’s office on Sunday morning said the buses did not make any stops during the police escort.

Chicago’s “sanctuary city” declaration was made by Democratic former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, and was in response to former President Donald Trump’s goal to build a wall along the Texas border.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the state’s resources are stretched thin by the tens of thousands of migrants circumventing proper ports of entry and began bussing migrants northward, toward cities such as Chicago and New York, that had declared their sanctuary status.

Abbott’s office said about the first flight on December 20th: “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 (migrant) crisis.”

In September, Gov. JB Pritzker asked Illinois communities outside of Chicago to take in some of the continuing influx of non-citizen migrants.

To encourage other cities in the Chicago region to take in the migrants, Pritzker announced $41.5 million in grants to pay for shelter and housing support, food, legal support, and health care.

“I hope that cities [in Illinois] will raise their hands and offer assistance,” Pritzker said at the time. “We have provided grant opportunities for cities that will do that.”

Under U.S. immigration law, foreign nationals seeking asylum in America must wait in their home country for 150 days after submitting their application for a work permit.

Pritzker has made a plea to the White House for federal assistance.

The Rockford’s Mayor’s Office said it was not aware of any other flights coming from Texas to Rockford at the moment, but added the Texas Department of Emergency Management is handling the situation and Rockford is in contact with them.

“If we get more of these flights, we will activate our local Emergency Operations Center to coordinate logistics and planning to ensure the safety of all involved throughout this process,” a spokesperson said.

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