An almost year-old U.S. Senate GOP investigation into Chicago’s migrant housing at O’Hare and Midway airports may develop into greater than only a political annoyance for Mayor Brandon Johnson subsequent 12 months as Republicans will take management of the federal authorities with a watch on tightening public security guidelines. spending on non-citizens.
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, a Republican member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, months in the past escalated an investigation that committee Republicans had opened into Chicago’s coverage of letting migrants sleep in airports whereas they waited hospitalization beds.
In an August letter to the mayor obtained by the Tribune by means of a public data request, the senator mentioned Johnson’s employees didn’t reply to questions despatched in January concerning the observe and raised the prospect that continued noncompliance may endanger the federal airport grants Chicago receives for initiatives at O’Hare International and Midway airports. Cruz additionally advised that Congress may pressure Chicago officers to reply if the Johnson administration failed to offer solutions.
At the time, the letter obtained no discover and Cruz’s calls for have been little greater than Washington scare ways as Democrats managed the Senate and nationwide Republicans have been utilizing the immigration subject to plague huge cities throughout the nation, with Chicago continually within the foreground. goal.
But with the GOP using the anti-immigration fervor that helped return Donald Trump to the White House and Republicans gaining management of the U.S. House and Senate, Cruz is ready to chair the highly effective committee beginning in January. While it stays to be seen how actual Cruz’s threats are, one of many committee’s choices is to withhold federal infrastructure {dollars} from cities that proceed to shelter immigrants at airports.
Although the arrival of migrants in Chicago from the southern border — typically bused right here on the behest of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas — has declined considerably this 12 months, the committee’s transfer can be one half of what’s anticipated to be a multipronged strategy fronts by Republicans to take their immigration efforts on to “sanctuary cities” like Chicago which have insurance policies in place to guard immigrant rights.
Tom Homan – Trump’s future border czar, who campaigned on the repeated promise of “mass deportations” of immigrants – mentioned not too long ago on Fox News that it’ll use “a really, very highly effective weapon” to doubtlessly withhold federal funding from states and cities run by Democratic governors and mayors combating deportation makes an attempt. He additionally mentioned he would put the mayor of Denver, one other sanctuary metropolis, in jail if he stops migrants from deporting.
Johnson’s press workplace didn’t reply to a number of questions on Cruz’s letter and the Senate committee’s investigation, which a committee spokesperson mentioned stays open. Among different Republicans on the committee who co-signed a letter supporting the investigation was Vice President-elect J.D. Vance of Ohio.
“Over the previous few months, Committee employees have contacted your employees on 4 separate events in search of a response. Unfortunately, your employees has refused to offer a substantive response,” Cruz wrote within the August letter. “Such lack of transparency with Congress and the American public is unacceptable. Your response will assist decide whether or not legislative modifications to Airport Improvement Program grants are wanted.”
The grants in query are federal funds that largely go to building initiatives at airports. In 2024, O’Hare and Midway obtained roughly $112 million in Airport Improvement Program {dollars}.
In an announcement to the Tribune, a consultant of the Republican members of the Senate committee mentioned: “Incoming Commerce Committee Chairman Cruz is continuous his investigation into Mayor Johnson’s determination to fund Chicago’s sanctuary airports and its impression on taxpayers”.
“With a Republican-led Congress, blue state mayors who violate federal regulation or abuse taxpayer {dollars} to prioritize unlawful aliens over Americans can be held accountable,” the assertion learn.
A Commerce Committee supply mentioned Johnson’s workplace had begun answering the committee’s questions, together with about prices and the impression on airport capability. The supply mentioned Republican members are contemplating banning cities from sheltering immigrants with out authorized authorization to reside within the United States at airports as a situation of accepting federal infrastructure funds.
As Chicago’s migrant disaster has eased, a couple of dozen migrants to this point this month remained at O’Hare awaiting shelter, in response to town’s census numbers, although it was unclear how lengthy their stays lasted.
Where Cruz and members of the Republican commerce committee hope to hit Johnson is by exhibiting that sheltering migrants at airports has abused federal sources prior to now.
“Repurposing airport services and infrastructure to accommodate unlawful aliens not solely degrades taxpayer investments within the nation’s airport system, however… violates the requirement that these federally funded services ‘be out there for public use as an airport,'” Cruz wrote in his preliminary January letter to Johnson. “No rational individual would outline an airport as a facility that homes unlawful immigrants.”
The committee is asking town concerning the whole variety of migrants who lived at O’Hare and Midway, the place they have been housed, the prices and capability reductions on the airport, whether or not town consulted the Federal Aviation Administration or the Transportation Security Administration and any incidents that resulted in a regulation enforcement response.
Cruz additionally requested whether or not federal “Passenger Facility Charge” funds have been used for O’Hare’s Terminal 1 or the airport’s bus and shuttle heart, all of that are used to deal with migrants. The service cost is the income that airports obtain from a tax utilized to most airline tickets.
Cruz additionally highlighted O’Hare’s $8.5 billion renovation challenge, for which Johnson brokered a cope with main airways within the spring.
“Your determination to deal with unlawful immigrants at O’Hare is much more curious contemplating that Chicago has been the topic of a months-long dispute with tenants United Airlines and American Airlines over the way forward for a brand new terminal,” Cruz wrote to January.
Chicago’s migrant disaster started in August 2022 when Abbott despatched a busload of asylum seekers into town and different northern municipalities. The Republican governor argued that southern border states have been overwhelmed by the wave of immigration that got here largely from Venezuela and mentioned so-called sanctuary cities like Chicago ought to step up relating to welcoming immigrants. Abbott’s transfer was denounced as a merciless political stunt by Illinois leaders who accused him of sowing chaos and utilizing poor asylum seekers as political pawns.
While Chicago’s management has been unequivocal in defending its standing as a sanctuary metropolis, the ordinance merely bars native regulation enforcement from serving to federal immigration authorities perform deportations. It doesn’t assure sources similar to shelter and meals.
The scenario worsened after Johnson took workplace in May 2023, when Texas officers stepped up the tempo of migrants from Texas to Chicago. At the identical time, the federal authorities didn’t come to Chicago’s rescue with enough support or border coverage reforms because the hordes of households tenting in police stations soared.
Although scenes of makeshift tent cities on sidewalks and within the entrances of Chicago Police Department precincts have captured nationwide consideration, lots of of migrants have been additionally housed at Terminal 1, the place asylum seekers arriving in Chicago by aircraft waited for a coveted mattress within the overcrowded metropolis neighborhood. shelters. At its peak in October 2023, about 850 migrants have been sleeping at O’Hare, in response to town’s day by day census. Midway additionally briefly hosted migrants, though a lot much less ceaselessly because the migrant inhabitants by no means exceeded 30.
The disaster eased earlier this spring following an govt order from President Joe Biden that cracked down on border crossings.
Johnson responded to Trump’s victory in November by promising Chicago’s immigrant communities that town will shield immigrants from deportation, saying Chicago’s sanctuary metropolis standing will stay in place.
The showdown between Cruz and Johnson will not be the primary time a Chicago mayor has clashed with Republicans in Washington over Chicago’s sanctuary metropolis standing. Then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel sued Trump’s Justice Department in 2017 after it withheld federal grants to Chicago over politics.
Emanuel prevailed, although the authorized battle was largely symbolic as a result of the sum of money at stake is a small fraction of town’s police funds. He needed to make use of $1.5 million for ShotSpotter.
