Rockford, Illinois, with a population of roughly 150,000, is just under 90 miles from Chicago's city center. It will be in the line of fire when Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson feels overwhelmed by the influx of illegal immigrants.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported last week that the Windy City expects a budget surplus for the year. That's allowed Johnson to tap into $95 million in federal cash intended to reimburse COVID-19 expenses.
Johnson and mayors of other major urban centers plug one gap then brace for another challenge as costs related to their increased migrant populations increase. "We're going to continue to lobby the federal government for more support as the situation becomes, frankly, more unstable," Johnson told the Sun-Times.
Stabilization concerns are mounting in Rockford as residents can see planes from Texas land and watch migrants – for now – mount buses bound for Chicago.
Dr. Tim Durkee, who also serves as a Rockford alderman, says his city is not equipped to house the illegals.
"Not without displacing people in hotels, but our hotels may or may not have accommodated them on a temporary basis. To accommodate them on a full-time basis would be difficult. Some [cities] may pay the hotel bill. We do not have that capacity," he said on Washington Watch Wednesday.
It's a problem that has Rockford leaders buzzing.
"There's been some chatter in our area as to some of the charitable organizations bringing migrants into the Rockford area. It's more a rumor than it's been proven, but we anticipate that may happen at some point because of our proximity to Chicago," Durkee offered.
The strain on smaller cities seems inevitable as border crossings not only continue but set records. Earlier this week, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said there were 302,000 encounters on the border for December, the highest number of illegal crossings ever recorded for a single month.
GOP: Shut down the border or shut down the government
House Speaker Mike Johnson led a GOP delegation to the border this week. The visit comes amid cries from many Republicans to force a government shutdown until the Biden administration agrees to significant border reform.
"Shut the border down, or we'll shut the government down," Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Arizona) wrote on the social media platform X.
Johnson said the administration intentionally rerouted illegals away from heavily trafficked Eagle Pass, Texas, during the GOP visit. Johnson posted then-and-now photos to X to support his claims.
In a news conference Wednesday, Johnson encouraged Biden to reinstitute the policy of his predecessor, Donald Trump, which held migrants in Mexico until their cases could be heard in an American court.
"If President Biden wants a supplemental spending bill focused on national security, it better begin by defending America's national security – it begins right here on our southern border," Speaker Johnson stated.
Republicans have tied money for Ukraine in its war against Russia, high on Biden's wish list, with security for the southern border.
The GOP visit comes two weeks before the first of two funding deadlines set forth in Johnson's continuing resolution in November. If a deal is not reached by Jan. 19, Agriculture, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Veterans Affairs will be the first federal agencies to lose funding.
The House Homeland Security Committee, chaired by Rep. Mark Green (R-Tennessee), has set its first hearing on the possible impeachment of Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas for Jan. 10, Green told Fox News.
"For almost three years the American people have demanded an end to the unprecedented crisis at the southwest border, and they have also rightly called for Congress to hold accountable those responsible," Green said.
Doctor fears health crisis with displaced illegals
Durkee would love to see Republicans and the administration strike a deal because it would mean border reform; and Rockford, perhaps, would be spared the expense of housing illegals and the health challenges that follow a housing crisis.
"One of the underplayed concerns that physicians have – and I've actually done some missionary work overseas – is there are any number of infectious and communicable diseases that people can bring across the border with them that can result in exposure on unsuspecting citizens of the United States," said the physician.
"For instance, polio, [and] there are some forms of tuberculosis that are antibiotic-resistant. There's actually leprosy that still exists in different countries that's communicable, and there are other things like measles," he explained.
"We have a certain population in the United States that is not vaccinated for one reason or another – either they don't want to be vaccinated or they just let it slide. And then they can fall victim to infectious diseases that people bring across."
