A plane carrying migrants from Texas landed at roughly 1 a.m. Sunday at the Rockford International Airport, Rockford officials said, and the migrants were “offloaded and immediately boarded buses” to Chicago, according to Rockford officials.
A Rockford spokesperson did not immediately say how many migrants were aboard the plane, how they were alerted to the flight, or who had chartered the buses to Chicago’s loading zone, but WTVO-TV in Rockford reported the plane was a Boeing 777 capable of holding up to 388 passengers, and at least 8 charter buses, each with a 57-seat capacity, were seen on the airport’s tarmac.
The statement suggested the flight was an escalation of Texas’ response to a recent Chicago ordinance that allowed the city to sue “rogue” bus operators dropping off migrants outside of set approved hours and locations. In recent weeks, Texas officials have opted to drop migrants off just outside Chicago limits.
“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,” a late Saturday joint statement from Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara, Winnebago County Board Chair Joe Ciarelli and other local officials said. The statement was posted to the city’s Facebook page.
Officers from the Winnebago County sheriff’s office, as well as Rockford police, were “on hand to make sure the process goes smoothly and ensure the safety of all involved” and Winnebago deputies will “escort buses to I-90 to allow for safe passage.”
Last week, a spokesperson for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott acknowledged the governor had begun chartering flights in response to the rogue bus policy. Bus drivers have also dropped migrants off just outside the city — in Indiana or, increasingly, in the suburbs — and given them Amtrak tickets or Metra cards to get downtown, according to city officials. A Dec. 29 statement from Abbott celebrated the state busing over 28,000 migrants to Chicago since August 2022.
Through Friday, about 40 buses transporting migrants had arrived at various outlying Metra stations over the past two weeks or so, Metra spokeswoman Martha Hill said. Though migrants already had fare cards, the agency received no advance notification of their arrival. Those riders were transported to downtown stations and passed to the care of Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications or were picked up by family and friends, Hill said. More buses were expected over the weekend, she said.