Aurora passes ordinance restricting Texas buses carrying immigrants
Aurora city council members Friday approved an ordinance aimed at holding bus companies bringing immigrants to town without notice accountable and establishing fines for those who don’t comply.
The ordinance passed 9 to 1 with Councilman John Laesch casting the only no vote. The measure, which takes effect immediately, comes as buses carrying immigrants from Texas have started dropping off their passengers at or near suburban train stations as a way around tighter restrictions in Chicago. Earlier this week, five buses made stops in Aurora, dropping their passengers at the train station and providing train tickets to Chicago.
Under the approved ordinance, bus companies would have to apply with Aurora for permission to make their stop. Applications must be filed five days in advance and include details such as contact information for the bus company and bus drivers, a plan outlining who will care for the passengers while in Aurora and a list of the passengers. Companies that do not comply could face fines of up to $1,000 per passenger and could have their buses impounded.
“We didn’t create the circumstance of the migrants fleeing their countries and going from one state to another. That’s above our jurisdiction,” said Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin, who likened the transport of immigrants from Texas to other states to kidnapping or human trafficking. “What we have to do here in Aurora is address those issues that we can.”
Residents at Friday’s meeting criticized the ordinance saying the city was turning its back on immigrants in a time of need and that the city should partner with community organizations to lend a helping hand rather than adopt an ordinance they said would restrict access.
“I ask you to understand the impact of this ordinance change and consider what it might look like to welcome newcomers to our city with intentionality and care,” said Shannon Cameron, director of the Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry.
Cameron questioned why the city did not apply for state funding to assist immigrants earlier this year. She also asked the council to consider the plight of the passengers on the buses arriving in Illinois, noting that after making the journey to the U.S. families found themselves being bussed hours away from Texas, only to be dropped off at suburban train stations to make their way to Chicago.
“Who do we want to be to them in this process,” she asked the council before they voted. “I hope when they look back at this time of trauma in their lives, Aurora is a reprieve in the chaos and our city is remembered for its compassion and the beauty of its people.”
City council members rebuffed characterizations that they were adopting an inhumane and uncaring ordinance. Rather, they said, the ordinance protects those arriving on the buses.
“This ordinance is not for the purpose of penalizing migrants,” Irvin said. “Rather, it regulates the way that these chartered buses operate within the city.”
He added that the city is not in a position to provide services to immigrants “long term.”
Officials from the mayor’s office and emergency management detailed the events of this past week noting they were first made aware of the buses from employees at the Aurora Transportation Center after one of the bus drivers inquired about purchasing a large number of one-way Metra tickets to Chicago. Deputy Mayor Guillermo Trujillo noted that in one instance, the bus driver did not have enough money to buy the tickets so the City of Aurora purchased the tickets.
Trujillo described the passengers he saw as scared and confused. He added many were not appropriately dressed for the weather, with some wearing pajamas and flip flops. He added every passenger he spoke with indicated they wished to go to Chicago where they could be processed and receive assistance.
In one instance, one of the buses that arrived in Aurora was hiding at the post office and sent one of the security guards to the train station to inquire about tickets.
City officials noted that some bus companies have been directed to drop passengers off in the suburbs near train stations. One bus dropped of passengers in Elburn. Also this week, another bus dropped off its passengers on the side of the road in Kankakee County, officials said.
Aurora Emergency Management Coordinator Natalie Wiza said the city is aware of four more buses that left Texas Thursday evening and are headed to Illinois. She is unsure where the buses will stop, but city officials will continue to work with the City of Chicago to make sure those arriving receive the assistance they need.