Around 35 migrants who were told they were being bused to Chicago were dropped off at a gas station in Kankakee early Thursday morning, officials said.
Their trip started in El Paso, Texas, and they were left at the Love’s Travel Stop, 3400 S. State Rd. in Kankakee, about 4:30 a.m., the Kankakee County sheriff’s office said.
“The passengers, hailing from Venezuela, were left without money, food, adequate clothing, and were under the impression that they had reached their destination,” said the sheriff’s office, which responded to a report at the gas station around 7:30 a.m.
Some migrants, wrapped in blankets, began walking along roadways, while others stayed at the gas station, officials said.
Law enforcement provided rides to Midway Airport for those who stayed at the gas station, as well as for a few people who had started walking, according to the sheriff’s office.
Kankakee County Sheriff Mike Downey said the office is trying to identify anyone responsible for leaving the migrants at the gas station.
The 30 to 40 new arrivals come a few days after the Texas Division of Emergency Management sent a private chartered plane carrying more than 120 asylum-seekers to O’Hare Airport. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office confirmed the state is responsible for the flight, which also departed from El Paso. A spokesman for Abbott said the state was “expanding our operation” to include sending migrants by plane to Chicago, in addition to the hundreds of buses they’ve already used to transport migrants to the city since last year.
“The cruelty of Texas Governor Abbott knows no bounds, and the latest round of buses and planes sent to the Chicagoland area just shows the lack of humanity underlying his ‘mission,’” Lawrence Benito, executive director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, told the Sun-Times in a statement.
“As advocates across Illinois rush to care for new arrivals, the need for federal and state coordination is heightened. This is also a moment for all cities and towns across Illinois to lean into showing what it means to be a welcoming state.”
In Aurora, a similar story unfolded this week when several buses arrived unannounced to the Metra train station there, and migrants were encouraged to travel to Chicago.
The Aurora City Council approved an ordinance during a special meeting Friday requiring bus operators to give the city at least a five days’ notice to obtain approval to arrive with passengers.
Since August 2022, more than 600 buses carrying migrants have arrived in Chicago from Texas, totaling 26,300 new arrivals, according to the city.
More than 14,000 remain in shelters across the city as of Friday.
