'Invasion': Clarendon Hills Residents Weigh In On Migrants

CLARENDON HILLS, IL – A Clarendon Hills woman called the migrants coming to Illinois from Texas an "invasion."

Meanwhile, another local woman said she wanted to help any migrants who may come into town.

On Wednesday, the Village Board heard from residents before unanimously voting for bus regulations. The rules were in response to reports of migrants bused by Texas to towns such as Hinsdale, Westmont and Elmhurst.

During public comments, resident Amira Padalik took the federal government to task for the migrants coming over the border into Texas.

"For two years, they have denied this invasion is taking place," she said. "We don't know who they are. They are invading."

While Padalik denied knowing who the migrants were, she suggested she knew what they were up to.

"They are not coming here to assimilate," she said. "They are coming here to take your freedom away."

Padalik said she immigrated to the United States 55 years ago and that she did so the right way.

"I highly respect this country," Padalik told the board. "You are tying the hands of the police. You are tying the hands of immigration (agencies)."

Another resident, Seema Patel, praised the proposed regulations, saying she recognized the difficulty of the issue.

She said residents could organize to help migrants who may come into town without causing extra work for the local government or an increase in taxes.

"If I had known in a timely manner that people had been dropped off at the Hinsdale Metra station, I probably would have run over with bottles of water," Patel said. "I would like to utilize this as an opportunity to be kind, to be helpful."

An unidentified man, however, disagreed.

"The more welcoming you are, we are just going to exacerbate the problem," he said. "You want to hand bottles of water and drive them to Chicago, then that's good on you. But I moved out of Chicago to Clarendon Hills not to deal with a humanitarian crisis."

In the other towns, the buses have dropped off the migrants, who then have gotten on trains to Chicago.

Village President Eric Tech, who was connected to the meeting remotely, said the migrants are potentially being put at risk by forces out of their control.

"What we need to do is hold those forces accountable for the risks they are putting people in," he said. "Therefore, by putting this ordinance in place, my goal is really to make sure those people are not left in a position where they are at risk or putting our own citizens at risk."

He added he would not debate the immigration crisis or discuss solutions "because, frankly, I don't know."

Patch reported on the provisions of the proposed ordinance in a story Wednesday.

Chicago has passed an ordinance to punish bus companies carrying migrants if they don't follow the city's new restrictions. That includes the seizure of buses.

The rules have caused Texas, which hires the bus firms, to send the buses to the suburbs, prompting some of them to enact new regulations. Those towns include Aurora, Tinley Park and University Park.