Hinsdale joins list of Chicago suburbs passing ordinances to curb migrants dropped off by Texas

CHICAGO — Chicago suburbs have begun to crack down on buses of migrants arriving from the southern border with little to no coordination, facing the fallout of increased border crossings that are for the first time in over a year being brought directly to their doorsteps.

For days now, several municipalities outside of Chicago have borne the brunt of Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s unwavering busing practices across state boundaries. Buses began arriving outside of Chicago after the city tightened restrictions on when and where they could arrive. Over a dozen other suburbs are now using Chicago’s rules as a blueprint so migrants will stop coming.

Hinsdale became one of the latest to do so. Its Village Board passed an ordinance on Tuesday to address the issue of unscheduled bus drop-offs at or near their train station.

“As the weather turns dangerously cold, migrant drop-offs unannounced in Hinsdale put in danger lives,” said Village President Thomas Cauley.

He blamed the unexpected bus arrivals on Chicago’s ordinance “restricting the flow of migrants.” As of Tuesday evening, he said, Hinsdale had received 11 buses in 11 days. Migrants have been given train tickets into the city by their bus drivers, but Metra police receive no advance notice, authorities said.

“They just don’t know when and where it’s going to happen,” said Metra spokesperson Michael Gillis.

Abbott has also sent migrants to Chicago twice on chartered planes with little notice. A Boeing 777 coming from San Antonio with over 350 migrants landed at the Rockford International Airport Sunday afternoon, 84 miles from the loading zone in the West Loop the city has designated for arrivals. Migrants were then bused from Rockford to Chicago.

Buses have stopped arriving in other municipalities that have passed ordinances, Cauley said, and he hoped the same would happen in Hinsdale.

Residents at the meeting expressed frustration and worry about public safety. Some asked for a complete ban on migrants.

Hinsdale resident Liz McCloy, 64, applauded the local police for responding to the chaotic arrival of migrants. She said she rides the train every morning — the same train that migrants have been boarding for a little over a week.

“I was on this morning at seven o’clock with a gentleman and his eight-year-old child, and he was very concerned that she was going to contract an illness that maybe one of the migrants — or illegals, whatever you want to call it — had brought along,” said McCloy to the Village Board.

Michelle Ptak, who has lived in Hinsdale for eight years, said she saw two migrants with ankle monitors and it concerned her.

“I would like to know who those two men were,” she said.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement sometimes uses ankle bracelets as a way for authorities to supervise individuals waiting for immigration court proceedings. They act as a less restrictive and more humane form of detention, according to the National Immigration Forum.

Hinsdale’s ordinance passed unanimously. It asks for five days advance notice and completion of an application that, among other things, requires an explanation of how to care for migrants. Buses that violate the ordinance face seizure and impoundment, and a fee of $750. Other ordinances look similar.

Nick Skokna, 60, told the Tribune after the meeting that he wants to help, but thinks that Hinsdale is ill-equipped. Skokna has lived in Hinsdale for over 30 years, and has 10 children between the ages of 15 and 32.

“I can feel their pain. These people come in with children and have nowhere to go,” he said. “You want to help them, but you just don’t know how.”

Christmas wreaths adorned the doors of the Memorial Building located at 19 East Chicago Ave. in Hinsdale.

“I hate when they say migrants. They’re illegal aliens!” said one woman to the group gathered outside.

More than 29,000 migrants in 630 buses have come to Chicago since August 2022. There are 14,706 migrants staying in 27 city-run shelters in Chicago, as of Jan. 2.

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