Busload of migrants abandoned at Illinois gas station an hour outside Chicago

Dozens of migrants were left abandoned at a gas station in Kankakee, Illinois, during the early morning hours Thursday as their bus driver told them they had arrived in Chicago, leaving them stranded and alone more than an hour outside the city, police said.

The Kankakee County Sheriff's office reported they were called to a gas station around 7:30 a.m. in the 3400 south block of Route 45/52 for what was described as a busload of migrants dropped off in a parking lot.

Once there, officers discovered multiple groups of migrants, some of whom had started walking down the highway and expressway wrapped in blankets. After speaking with 11 people who were still at the gas station, officers learned the bus had traveled from El Paso, Texas, and dropped the group off around 4:30 a.m., with the bus driver "erroneously informing them that they had reached Chicago, their intended destination," police said.

"The passengers, hailing from Venezuela, were left without money, food, adequate clothing, and were under the impression that they had reached their destination," the sheriff's office said in a statement.

Kankakee Mayor Christopher W. Curtis told NBC Chicago in an email that the bus dropped off 30 to 40 individuals from Venezuela. He went on to say that the country's current immigration system is "broken."

"...There is a process to come to our Country and the rules and laws must be followed," the mayor said, in part. "We understand that families have immigrated to our community for many years, but at pace that is substantial. We don't have the housing, resources, or financial dollars available to handle busloads into community, especially with no announcement or warning. In the end, we have a duty to protect all our residents and visitors in our City and we will, however, our first duty and oath as elected officials is to help and protect our residents first and that is what we will do."

Officers arranged for a local bus company to bring the group to Midway Airport, with some providing rides to many who had already started walking down roadways.

Police are still trying to identify those responsible for abandoning the group at the gas station.

The sheriff's office said it filed an emergency declaration with the Illinois Emergency Management Agency "due to concerns about potential future incidents," saying the department has "limited resources available to accommodate such situations, comparable to the assistance provided in Chicago."

The department urged residents and drivers to report any buses appearing to prepare to drop off a large group of occupants anywhere in the County of Kankakee by dialing 911.

This comes as other Chicago-area suburbs report similar situations.

The Aurora City Council held a special meeting Friday to discuss an ordinance that would prohibit unscheduled bus stops after multiple buses carrying migrants from Texas started arriving at the Aurora Transportation Center this week, with passengers being told to board Metra trains to Chicago.

"The proposed ordinance is to ensure the safety of individuals, including migrants and refugees, who are transported to the city without prior arrangements for their care and well-being," the city said in a statement.

The ordinance would require transportation companies to provide notification at least days in advance of an arrival to allow passengers to disembark in Aurora.

"The City of Aurora is not equipped to handle an influx of multiple busloads of persons arriving each day, nor, given the time of year, is it acceptable for persons to simply be 'dropped off' at a Metra station with few personal items, seasonally inappropriate attire, and no access to services," the city said in a statement. "In fact, doing so puts the health and safety of these passengers at great risk."

Earlier this week, a plane carrying dozens of asylum-seekers arrived at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, having traveled to the city unannounced from Texas, officials said.

A spokesperson for the city confirmed officials received a call around 7:15 p.m. Tuesday stating that a "private plane chartered by the Texas Department of Emergency Management" had landed at the airport and left roughly 100 migrants at Signature Flight.

Two people who flew with the plane reportedly fled Signature Flight and left the scene in an Uber before police arrived, the spokesperson said.

The city said the flight also originated from El Paso, Texas.

In a statement from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's office, his press secretary confirmed Texas is "expanding our operation to include flights to Chicago."

"Because Mayor Johnson is failing to live up to his city's 'Welcoming City' ordinance by targeting migrant buses from Texas, we are expanding our operation to include flights to Chicago, like the Biden Administration has been doing across the country. Governor Abbott launched the border bus mission in April 2022 to provide support to our overrun and overwhelmed border communities as the Biden Administration leaves thousands of migrants in their towns," press secretary Andrew Mahaleris said in a statement. "Until President Biden steps up and does his job to secure the border, Texas will continue taking historic action to help our local partners respond to this Biden-made crisis.” 

The private aircraft’s arrival came one day after Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson repeatedly criticized Abbott while fielding questions from reporters about the death of a 5-year-old child who had been living at a migrant shelter in the city's Pilsen neighborhood.

“Until we get a handle on what has happened internationally, the city of Chicago, the city of Denver, the city of New York and all these other cities in which this raggedy governor of Texas is shipping people across the world, and particularly against the country; until we get a handle on that, we’re going to constantly have to come up with innovative approaches (to address the migrant crisis),” Johnson told reporters Monday.

The city is working to find space in its shelter system for any asylum seekers staying at O'Hare Airport, officials said.

As of 8 a.m. Friday, the city reported 14,454 migrants in 27 active shelters, with 251 awaiting placement. In total, more than 26,000 migrants have come to Chicago.