Palatine police turn away migrant bus at train station

A bus from Texas filled with migrants stopped at the Palatine train station Wednesday afternoon but was sent on its way to Chicago with its passengers still on board, police said.

Police responded at about 2 p.m. to a call regarding a bus that appeared to be dropping off approximately 40 people at the village’s downtown train station.

Arriving officers saw people leaving the bus, but they reboarded with the assistance of the bus driver, according to police.

Once the passengers were back in the vehicle, the driver received the address of a designated drop-off location in Chicago, which appeared to be the migrants’ intended destination, police said.

Officers accompanied the bus out of the village limits.

Police said it was the first time a bus of migrants had arrived for drop-off in Palatine.

Palatine is not among the suburbs that have passed an ordinance aimed at curbing unscheduled bus stops to drop off migrants who are being driven north from the Texas border. Those ordinances typically require several days notice of a planned drop-off and a detailed plan for how the people aboard the bus will be cared for. Violations could lead to fines and the impounding of buses.