TEXAS — A Texas bus company is suing the City of Chicago over its recent bus ordinance that restricts when and where buses from other cities can drop off migrants.

What You Need To Know

  • A Texas bus company is suing Chicago over a new migrant busing ordinance

  • The ordinance puts restrictions on when and where migrants can be dropped off in the city and requires an application be filled out by bus companies to be approved by the city's commissioner

  • The City of Chicago has filed 95 lawsuits against bus companies that have not complied with its new ordinance

  • Since August 2022, Gov. Greg Abbott has bused more than 30,800 migrants to Chicago

The company alleges that the ordinance is “unconstitutional,” according to NBC Chicago.

As of December 2023, when the ordinance was first put in place, the city now requires bus companies to fill out an application to be allowed to drop off migrants in the city. The application includes contact information and estimated arrival time. All drop-offs must be scheduled, per the City of Chicago.

Migrants must be dropped off at one designated location between the hours of 5:30 p.m. and 8 a.m. Monday through Friday. Drop-offs on Saturdays, Sundays or on designated Chicago holidays are not permitted, according to the City of Chicago.

NBC Chicago reports that the City of Chicago has filed 95 lawsuits against bus companies that have not complied with its new ordinance. Since December, two buses have been impounded, costing companies over $3,400.

One of those bus companies was affiliated with Texas-based Wynne Transportation.

In early January, New York City filed its own lawsuit against bus companies alleging that the companies were profiting heavily on each passenger to travel in their buses. 

Since August 2022, Gov. Greg Abbott has bused more than 30,800 migrants to Chicago. He has also sent tens of thousands of migrants to other sanctuary cities such as Washington, D.C., New York and Philadelphia.