64 Refugees Sent To Burr Ridge: Mayor

BURR RIDGE, IL – Burr Ridge has learned that 64 refugees, many bused from Texas to Chicago, were taken temporarily to a hotel in the village, the mayor said Thursday.

They were transported Wednesday from Salvation Army Shield of Hope in Chicago. Mayor Gary Grasso did not name the hotel.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has been busing refugees from Texas to New York City and Washington. Chicago is the latest destination.

In a statement, Grasso said village officials were not consulted or contacted about the decision to send the refugees to Burr Ridge and are now gathering information to keep residents updated.

Grasso said the refugees are expected to stay in the village over the next few weeks, but ultimately no more than 30 days from now.

The village expected the number to become fewer as people find housing and employment.

Grasso said he wanted the community to be aware of a number of pieces of information:

• The federal government, which handles immigration, granted legal refugee status to the migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. The refugees are legally permitted to be in the United States.
• All refugees received health screening at the border and upon arrival in Chicago. Any person with an illness or communicable disease has been isolated at a public health shelter outside Burr Ridge.
• The refugees are primarily families with children; few traveled alone. State Department of Human Services employees are planning to stay in Burr Ridge throughout the refugees' stay in town. Some have family in the area, while others are being helped by private charitable agencies with their transition to living in the United States.

Grasso noted that earlier this year, the village hosted asylum-seeking refugees from Afghanistan, who have now found housing and employment.

"Burr Ridge offers all persons from around the world a better life in the United States. We also want to assure our residents and businesses that the current situation will be handled in an orderly and safe manner for all," Grasso said in the statement.

He said people could donate materials to the refugees by visiting World Relief Chicagoland.

In a text message to Patch, former Burr Ridge Trustee Zach Mottl said he doesn't favor sending undocumented immigrants out of Chicago to a place like Burr Ridge, which is not equipped to handle them.

"I’m very much in support of securing the border and also providing a sensible and fair pathway for immigrants to enter the USA and join our workforce," Mottle said. "We need good workers, and immigration has historically been both a pathway for folks to move up in life and also a workforce for America. That’s how my family came here in the early 1900s."

Mottl works for his family company, Lyons-based Atlas Tool Works.

"I can tell you that we’re desperate for skilled and even unskilled workers in manufacturing, so if any of these people have any skills in manufacturing or can be trained and they can get the appropriate green cards, I’m interested in hiring good hard-working teammates," Mottl said.