DeKalb alderwoman blasts city’s proposed migrant ordinance as ‘unwelcoming’

DeKALB – DeKalb Alderwoman Carolyn Zasada called a city proposal to regulate future unexpected arrivals of migrant groups in town “unwelcoming” Wednesday, one day before the City Council’s special meeting on the proposed ordinance.

A plane carrying migrants from Texas that landed in Rockford Sunday has prompted DeKalb city officials to propose a plan that will be the subject of a special meeting Thursday.

The public is invited to take part in that special meeting at 5 p.m. Thursday at the DeKalb Public Library, 309 Oak St. to weigh in on a proposed ordinance before an expected City Council vote. City staff have said the ordinance would deter the arrival of unscheduled bus drop-offs.

Zasada said she doesn’t believe the city will be able to apply the ordinance effectively.

“This ordinance is suggesting that we can prosecute bus drivers or a bus company,” Zasada said Wednesday. “This ordinance sort of points at the bus situation, but really it’s just saying, ‘Hey, we don’t want these people here.’ That’s how I see it. We struggled to prosecute Hunter Properties effectively. We’ve been in court for years with them. To suggest that we’re going to prosecute bus companies or whomever is dropping people off is just a pipe dream. How much money are we going to spend on that? What are we going to do?”

[ DeKalb to consider ordinance regulating migrant arrivals ]

In a Facebook post, Zasada described the proposed ordinance as a “weak attempt to recoup funds” she believes would inevitably be reimbursed by the state.

On Nov. 16, Gov. JB Pritzker announced a plan to allocate $160 million through the Illinois Department of Human Services to help aid asylum seekers headed to Chicago. The funds, according to the governor’s office, are mostly allocated to the city of Chicago, however.

DeKalb Mayor Cohen Barnes said he’s proud of the proposed ordinance, which he said is meant to aid migrants, however.

“What we’re really trying to do is make sure that we’re not going to have a busload of migrants dumped off in the cold in our community without any sort of plan to take care of them,” Barnes said Wednesday. “Ultimately, the ordinance is about that. It’s about punishing the transportation system that is abandoning people out in the cold and abandoning children out in the cold.”

The proposed ordinance also would impose fines on drivers or impound buses if found in violation, according to city documents.

Migrants arriving in northern Illinois cities is the latest in a trend seen over the past year as Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s administration transports groups crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas to Democratic-led cities, The Associated Press reported. Migrants were bound for the city of Chicago. Chicago city leaders, however, have since imposed penalties of their own on unscheduled bus drop-offs, saying the abrupt nature of the drop-offs doesn’t allow the city to adequately prepare to house those in need.

Unscheduled bus drop-offs – or a plane to a Rockford airport on New Year’s Eve, the Rockford Register Star reported – have occurred in the suburbs and collar counties in recent weeks, including Joliet, Elburn, Woodstock and Kankakee, among others.

Barnes said the city of DeKalb is not equipped to address a challenge such as the migrant crisis.

“Our resources are stretched just taking care of the people and the families we have already in our community,” Barnes said. “We can’t … have additional people come to our community that are going to stay here and need those same resources. We just don’t have that.”

The city’s proposed ordinance states that police officers may seize and impound commercial vehicles, in accordance to municipal code. It also stipulates that violators may be subject to a $1,000 fine for each passenger arriving on an offending commercial motor vehicle.

Zasada said she felt compelled to take to social media with her opinion on the ordinance before Thursday’s public meeting.

“This is not how I want to see people treated, and this is not how I want to see the community expressing its feelings about migrants,” Zasada said. “I don’t want immigrants in our community who already live here, who are already apart of the community to feel like outsiders because of this. That’s what this is in my mind and to me. My grandfather was an immigrant. This just feels absolutely unwelcoming.”