Two busloads of migrants dropped off at Elmhurst train station
Two busloads of migrants who reportedly had entered the U.S. in Texas were dropped off at the Elmhurst train station Saturday night, police announced.
A total of 91 people were on the coach buses, according to a post on the Elmhurst Police Department’s Facebook page.
The first bus contained 58 people, police said. Someone bought Metra tickets for all the bus riders, and nearly all of them boarded a 9:13 p.m. train for Chicago’s Ogilvie Transportation Center, authorities said.
One or two people departed in cars that arrived at the station, said Mayor Scott Levin, who went to the train station after the bus arrived.
Everyone waited on the bus for less than an hour until the train pulled into the station, Levin said.
Levin said he asked a Metra conductor to open a separate car for the migrants.
The second bus, containing 33 people, arrived later. The people boarded an 11:13 p.m. train to Chicago. Again, one or two people left the station in cars, Levin said.
Although the trains were headed to Chicago, Levin believed the migrants were able to get off at any stop along the way.
Elmhurst police and firefighters helped coordinate the situation and answered questions, according to the Facebook post.
“We will continue to provide police presence to monitor the situation and protect the migrants,” Levin said.
City officials will work with the DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference and the DuPage Office of Emergency Management to assist migrants dropped off in town, Levin said.
Scenes like the one in Elmhurst have occurred in other communities across northeast Illinois in recent weeks, including Fox River Grove, Aurora and the Kankakee area. Officials believe they were prompted by Chicago officials announcing in mid-November that bus companies could be ticketed and fined or see vehicles impounded for violating rules about passenger debarkation, including a requirement to schedule such stops.
Rosemont and Aurora have enacted similar rules for buses.
On Sunday, the Illinois Department of Human Services announced the state is reserving more hotel rooms to house migrants transported to the area from Texas.
The state made approximately 30 hotel rooms available Saturday night, with more rooms for up to 200 people expected to be available Sunday, according to a news release.
The Illinois Department of Human Services is working with Chicago officials to find hotel rooms for the migrants. The city is providing transportation for the people.
Those in hotels will be moved to a pharmacy being converted into a shelter in the Little Village neighborhood when construction finishes in January, officials said.