More suburbs preparing to restrict migrant transports from Texas
At least four more towns in the Northwest suburbs could take steps to restrict migrant transports from Texas next week.
The Wheeling, Arlington Heights and Lake Barrington village boards and the Des Plaines City Council are scheduled to take up the issue when they each meet.
Wheeling officials are up first on Monday.
The proposal would require privately chartered bus operators delivering at least 10 passengers to Wheeling to first get village permits. Applications will require information about company owners, drivers and each passenger. Applicants also would have to provide the date, time and location of proposed stops, among other details.
Violators would be fined $750 per passenger and buses could be impounded.
Wheeling’s meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. at village hall, 2 Community Blvd.
The Des Plaines City Council will tackle the matter Tuesday.
Under its proposal, buses transporting at least 10 passengers from other towns and that aren’t part of a scheduled service cannot stop to load or unload passengers in Des Plaines without the prior written approval of city officials.
Applications would have to include information about the bus owner, driver and passengers and a required on-scene coordinator.
Additionally, such buses can allow passengers to disembark only between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. weekdays and only at the downtown Metra station, 1501 Miner St.
Violators could be fined between $5,000 and $10,000, documents show, and buses could be seized.
The council meets at 7 p.m. at city hall, 1420 Miner St.
Arlington Heights' ordinance, also to be considered Tuesday night, would require any bus company transporting at least 10 passengers to apply for permission at least five days before arrival. Drop-offs could only occur at the Arlington Park Metra station, and bus companies would be responsible for coordinating passengers’ train transportation to Chicago, where an official landing zone for migrants operates.
Like Wheeling, Arlington Heights would fine violators $750 per passenger and impound buses.
The board meeting is set for 7:30 p.m. at village hall, 33 S. Arlington Heights Road.
Finally, Lake Barrington trustees will hold a special meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday at village hall, 23860 N. Old Barrington Road, to debate busing rules for their town. Details of the plan weren’t available Friday.
Mundelein, Deer Park, Buffalo Grove, South Barrington, Elburn and Rosemont are among the suburbs that have banned unscheduled bus drops in recent weeks. Regulations also were adopted in Palatine, Mount Prospect, Elk Grove Village, Bloomingdale, Libertyville and Oak Lawn.
The prohibitions were prompted by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s orchestration of bus and plane transports to the Chicago region and elsewhere. Tens of thousands of migrants who crossed into the U.S. in Texas have been transported to other states.
Their stay is allowed under U.S. immigration law as humanitarian parole, or while they pursue asylum claims in court. Such migrants are required to report regularly to immigration authorities.
On Friday, members of Illinois’ Democratic congressional delegation wrote to President Joe Biden urging him to provide more federal resources to help manage the influx of migrants to the suburbs. They also requested a review of operations at the southern border.
Daily Herald senior writer Christopher Placek and The Associated Press contributed to this report.