Unscheduled Migrant Drop-Offs Restricted Under New Rules Passed By Wilmette Village Board

WILMETTE, IL — Following an uptick in the number of unscheduled buses of migrants arriving from Texas, village trustees have declared them to be a nuisance and adopted new restrictions on the drop-offs.

The Wilmette Village Board on Wednesday unanimously adopted an ordinance setting specific guidelines for intercity buses, citing the drain on police resources.

Village Manager Michael Braiman said about 2,450 passengers have arrived on 62 unscheduled buses since the start of the year.

When they arrive, local police help them most of them board a Metra train and direct migrants to a designated intake center in Chicago.

"With assistance from Wilmette Police, nearly all passengers get on the train and those who do not are picked up by family or friends while police officers stand by," Braiman said in a memo to the board. "Bus passengers are not staying in Wilmette and there have not been any public safety issues with these drop-offs to date."

The village manager described a pair of early morning drop-offs this month as particularly problematic.

On April 5, passengers arrived at 1:15 a.m. and had to remain on the bus until the next train arrived at 4:50 a.m. And on April 7, a driver left a busload of passengers at the Metra parking lot shortly before 5:30 a.m.

By the time police arrived back from other calls, they found the migrants had dispersed down Green Bay Road. Officers later helped them board the 7:50 a.m. train to Chicago, according to Braiman.

"Additionally, the Village has been assisted by a number of exceptional community volunteers in managing this operation through winter clothing drives and preparation and distribution of care packages," he said. "When volunteers become aware of a bus arrival, they meet the buses at the Metra station and distribute donations to the new arrivals. However, such distributions by community volunteers are not possible during overnight hours."

Under the new rules, bus operators may only drop off passengers on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding holidays, and buses may only stop at the Metra station at 722 Green Bay Road.

Violations carry fines of $50 to $750 per passenger and the potential impounding of buses. And while the ordinance encourages operators to provide advance notice to Wilmette police, it does not mandate it.

Other North Shore communities along the Union Pacific North line have implemented stricter controls on the new arrivals, who Texas authorities are paying to transport from the border to Democratic-led sanctuary cities.

Winnetka, Glencoe and Highland Park have enacted new rules to require scheduled times for bus arrivals and departures, an application process.

Evanston, Skokie, Glenview, Northbrook and Lake Forest have not adopted any bus-related ordinances, but none of them have received any bus drop offs from Texas, according to Braiman.

Both Glencoe and Highland Park require a city employee to be present before passengers can disembark, while Glencoe also mandates bus operators get a village-issued license.

Since 2022, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has sent more than 37,000 migrants to Chicago, which has received more than $200 million in state and federal aid to support the migrants.

Braiman said there are about 800 new arrivals in the Chicago area every week, with most of them taking Metra trains into the city from Wilmette and Glen Ellyn. Chicago emergency officials anticipate the number will increase to 1,200 people a week next month and 2,000 a week or more in June.

Although Cook County set aside $20 million to cover the cost of suburban municipalities supporting migrants, only a few applied ahead of Friday's deadline — Oak Park, Ford Heights, Forest Park and University Park — leaving millions of dollars still unspent.

The Cook County Department of Emergency Management and Regional Security is overseeing the grants. Spokesperson Caitlin McElroy told Patch department staff continue to discuss funding possibilities with other communities, including Evanston.

"The remaining amount will still be available for a suburban municipality facing a declared disaster. The response to the new arrivals remains a declared disaster under a disaster proclamation from Governor Pritzker," McElroy said on Friday.

"We have communicated that for any community that has shown interest in the funding but needs further technical assistance to finalize a proposal, we will continue the dialogue beyond today's deadline to work with them."