Chicago mayor says Abbott causing ‘chaos’ by sending migrant buses

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) said Sunday that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) was sowing “seeds of chaos” by sending buses of migrants to Chicago without prior warning and called for greater coordination between state and local officials.

In an interview on CBS News’s “Face the Nation,” Johnson confirmed the city of Chicago had seen the arrival of several buses of migrants in the past several nights — and that yesterday, the City had even received an unexpected flight arriving in the city.

“The governor of Texas, Governor Abbott, is determined to continue to sow seeds of chaos. And last night, and several nights before, a number of buses continued to arrive in the city of Chicago, throughout the country without any coordination,” Johnson said. “And now he’s taken on this very dangerous task of placing individuals on airplanes and flying them into our various cities.”

“This is certainly a matter of, not just of our national security, but it’s the type of chaos that this governor is committed to administering,” Johnson added.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, addresses the crowd before President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy, Wednesday, June 28, 2023, at the Old Post Office in Chicago. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Johnson accused Abbott of being “afraid and mad” at the migrant situation at the southern border and acknowledged the difficulty Abbott faces. The problem, Johnson said, is the lack of coordination between Abbott and the officials running the cities to which he is sending the migrants. Johnson said that only creates more chaos.

“What we have said repeatedly is that we need Congress to act to provide the resources that are needed in order to carry out this mission,” Johnson said. “But what we can’t have is a governor in the state of Texas, acting the way he is acting and quite frankly, the rogue buses that are being dropped off across this country in the middle of the night, leaving people with no real support at all, no coordination with the local municipalities.”

“That type of chaos,” he continued, “it’s certainly dividing our country, and we need better coordination between all levels of government to be able to respond to this mission.”

Johnson called for structure and coordination around the busing tactic.

“What we’re simply saying, what I’ve done over a month ago, we provided an ordinance that would ultimately provide some structure and some coordination around when buses should arrive,” Johnson said. “Should not be dropping people off in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere without the type of support that’s needed.”

In a statement provided Tuesday to The Hill, Renae Eze, a spokesperson for Abbott, accused Johnson and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston (D) of hypocrisy.

“They are now going to extreme lengths to avoid fulfilling their self-declared sanctuary city promises, yet they remain silent as President Biden transports migrants all around the country and oftentimes in the cover of night,” Eze wrote. “Instead of attacking Texas’ efforts to provide relief to our overwhelmed border communities, these Democrat mayors should call on their party leader to finally do his job and secure the border – something he continues refusing to do.”

Updated at 4:27 pm.