CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Another busload of migrants, about 50 in all, arrived in Chicago Saturday afternoon from a detention center in Texas.
The WBBM newsroom received a call around 1:00 p.m. that the migrants had been dropped off by a bus near Clinton and Van Buren. There were men, women, and children huddled in the cold.
Jose Acala of Chicago told WBBM he was "coming down Van Buren here, right after the boat lift and there was a bus dropping off these people around 11:30."
"They had no (winter) clothing, they had no shoes. It looks like they came from a detention center. They had slippers on," he added.
Acala notified 25th Ward Alderman Byron Sigcho Lopez.
"They were just told to take a Greyhound (bus) without any resources, still I don't see anyone from the city or anywhere else," he told WBBM.
The migrants said they had been put on a bus in El Paso, Texas after spending six days in a detention center and they were all from Venezuela.
The alderman and others were scrambling to get food, clothing, blankets to comfort the migrants who appeared exhausted, but also thankful.
Several Chicago police officers were nearby and also appeared to be providing assistance while the alderman and others were working to make accommodations. One woman came up and handed out bottles of water.
A man who only wanted to be identified as David V. was one of the first people to see the migrants after they got off the bus. He told WBBM he then ran home and got blankets and other items to give to the migrants after their long journey. He even gave one of them the coat he was wearing and said he "probably won't"get it back but added, "that's fine though...you do what you can. You never want to see a situation like this."
"With the blessings of God, (we) made it here," said one of the women who had been on the bus, through a translator, as the October sunshine fell on them and they huddled in the Chicago cold.
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