A Texas man. I see him as he'll call himself an ordinary guy. I don't see it that way. A bit of a hero in this climate. He's opened his Airbnb to migrants who were without sleeping outside. [00:00:15] KENS News 5 reporting as the Catholic Charities run migrant resource center in San Antonio, Texas, continues to operate at capacity, needs overflow here. Families are left to sleep out in the cold, but [00:00:33] one local man has opened his doors to those in need. Santiago Rodriguez, a husband, father of three, began his humanitarian mission when he noticed the harsh conditions migrants were enduring nightly outside the center. [00:00:50] Rodriguez telling KENS 5 they had no blankets. It's like, wow, all these people using cartons to cover themselves. It was too much for him. The last two weeks, Rodriguez has welcomed more than 40 migrants to his Airbnb turned shelter. [00:01:08] He'll pick up willing migrants outside the center depending on their needs. Car salesman-turned humanitarian has spent thousands of dollars on food, clothing, hygiene, supplies to support the migrants while they [00:01:24] figure out next steps to reach their final destinations. Because there's a lot of kids, a lot of milk, a lot of eggs, toilet paper, soap, pampers, everything is being bought by me, Rodriguez said. Four-bedroom home serves as temporary refuge for migrants, primarily from [00:01:44] Venezuela and Colombia, of whom have employment ambitions across the US. Some people, they say they trying to go to Denver. Other people, they say they need to go to North Carolina. I got a girl, she's leaving on the fifth meeting a couple of days. [00:02:00] She's already got her ticket, she's going to New York. Rodriguez understands Catholic Charities is unable to accommodate every migrant's needs, but he hopes the nonprofit is able to collaborate with more community organizations to meet their needs. [00:02:16] KENS 5 notes the feeling of desperation as paranus dozens of people crowd the nearby parking lots in search of food, warm clothing. Community members come by throughout the day with vehicles filled with food, [00:02:31] clothing and other resources. Catholic Charities spokesman Tara Ford stressed the Migrant Resource Center is at capacity on a daily basis. Secondary warming tent has been established for eligible migrants. As for why many migrants are sleeping on the streets, [00:02:48] Catholic Charities noted some are arriving without proper documentation. Now, Ford said in an emailed statement, we can only provide services to migrants who meet federal eligibility criteria. Fortunately, some migrants arrived to San Antonio without the proper Department of [00:03:07] Homeland Security DHS approved release documents. They are not eligible to receive services under our federal funding. Other migrants are refusing to wait in the queue for intake process and we cannot provide services if they are outside of the premises. [00:03:24] Migrant Resource Center provides an array of assistance, including blankets, food, water, baby formula and diapers, among other survival essentials. Funding has been drastically reduced as of first of the year. We have requested additional federal funding to maintain our current operation. [00:03:43] Now, as for Rodriguez, he's planning to assist as many migrants as possible throughout the winter months, quoting I cannot help everybody. I try the best I can, Rodriguez said. Rodriguez is willing to accept donations from the community for [00:03:58] maintaining his humanitarian mission. You see the email there if you're so inclined, I hope you'll jot it down. [email protected] now for those who live in the area, Catholic Charities is also accepting donations of clothing and hygiene items. [00:04:16] Those donations can be made at St Stephen's CARE Center between 9 and 2PM, Monday through Friday. Meanwhile, Texas Governor Greg Abbot I wonder what he's doing to help. I guess he's gonna put his hat in the ring and say I'll match it. [00:04:33] That's where I think should happen. Let's see. The Republican flew a group of hundreds of asylum seekers to Chicago for the second time in two weeks. About 350 migrants were reportedly boarded onto a private chartered flight from San Antonio, which arrived in Rockford, [00:04:51] largest city in Illinois outside of the Chicago metro area, early Sunday morning. Despite the grin, he's up to, well, Grinch's work. The holiday's over, but he's still doing the Grinch's work. [00:05:07] Governor Abbott in an interview on CBS hours later, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson reprimanded Abbott as, quote, afraid and mad about his own border. Warning that Abbott is determined to sow the seeds of chaos by turning [00:05:23] a human crisis into a national security threat. What we have is clearly an intentional and federal crisis that local governments are being asked to subsidize, and this is unsustainable, Johnson told Face the Nation host Martha Raddatz. [00:05:38] Chicago, like many cities with Democratic leadership, has been absorbing a steady stream of asylum seekers without coordination with the Texas government. A move that Johnson said puts undue strain on local governments who lack the resources available in border regions. [00:05:53] The Daily Beast filling in the quote for us. In an effort to stem the influx, Chicago recently cracked down on rogue bus operators, leading Abbott to send planes instead vowing that more will be coming. Currently, nearly 600 migrants are waiting to be processed in Chicago's 27 shelters, [00:06:14] CBS reported, with a total of 26,000 people now seeking asylum in that city. It cost a lot of money to charter private jet and put so many people on it right from Texas to Chicago. [00:06:33] That's a lot of money could have been spent elsewhere. Who hurt you? Is what I ask when I see because I don't believe a smile. Who hurt you? And can we figure that out before you do more damage to people? [00:06:50] There are two sides, though, to this, Rayyvana. Some would say, well, Abbot and others complain that they cannot keep doing this. They're the southern border states and we think it's fair to spread it around. [00:07:06] The feds aren't helping enough. I tend to believe that they take a certain set of circumstances that have some truth in them. The system is stressed and they spin it and use it for devilish things to speak to a certain political agenda. [00:07:22] But are there two sides of this? Can Abbott get any grace for his actions? >> Speaker 2: Well, it's certainly true that the federal government is not investing nearly enough money or resources into states so that they can handle the influx in migration. [00:07:40] But that's not the position really that Greg Abbott has because his argument is that Chicago, and it was recently reaffirmed here by our aldermen, is a sanctuary city. And that's the message that they sell. They'll send migrants to places that are sanctuary cities, [00:07:58] that do not deport undocumented immigrants. Despite the fact that these migrants they're sending are not undocumented immigrants, they are asylum seekers. They're not at risk of deportation. So it's an absurd claim in the first place, but that's the argument they make. [00:08:13] And the premise of their argument is essentially a racist one. If Greg Abbot's only argument was that there's not enough resources, it's true of Texas, but it's also true here in Chicago. We also are not, as our mayor Brandon Johnson eloquently put, [00:08:28] we are not getting our needs met either. So this is essentially just human trafficking, in my opinion, what Greg Abbot is doing, what Ron DeSantis has been doing. They are telling these migrants that there's going to be jobs waiting for them in the locations they're going. [00:08:45] They're telling them that there's gonna be shelter and food, knowing full well that migrants here in Chicago are also sleeping outside. And Chicago is a hell of a lot colder than Texas. I live just a few blocks from one of these migrant encampments that are outside. These are men, women and children, [00:09:02] babies sleeping in tents outside in the harsh Chicago winter. Because as was mentioned in the article, the charities don't have enough to help take care of all of these people. The city doesn't have enough money. The state hasn't done enough either. [00:09:17] But the federal government specifically has not invested enough to ensure that these people are safe, that they have a place to stay over the winter. So they're not sleeping outside. Hell, they shouldn't be sleeping outside any time of year, these individuals. So it's an issue that's sickening to me. [00:09:34] But I think a lot of attention and it's important to point out the disgusting games that these republican governors are playing with the lives of these migrants. Treating them like they're subhuman, like animals to be shipped around and just to score cheap political points with. [00:09:51] But I think a lot of attention also needs to be put on Biden and the Biden administration. And the lack know this is supposedly the empathy precedent. That's what they love to highlight about Joe Biden. But he has shown a complete lack of empathy when it comes to the care of asylum seekers, migrants in general. [00:10:08] These are people who are escaping circumstances that this country created in their home countries. They're making a dangerous trek to come here for opportunity and they are being treated horrifically. And the federal government has shown that it was willing to bypass Congress to [00:10:26] send millions and millions of dollars to Israel to spend weapons there. But they're not willing to invest in the same way for migrants here in this country. It just shows where its priorities are. And it's not with these individuals who know extremely vulnerable and [00:10:44] it's just heartbreaking. >> Speaker 1: It's heartbreaking. And they are being hurted throughout the United States. And let me just say this, okay? There is this administration you speak of the Biden administration. [00:10:59] And folks, again, when people are on the campaign trail, they criticize the other guy. And frankly, there's a lot to criticize, right? 45 is inhumane treatment cages. But remember, certain policies continued. Those policies continued. [00:11:14] Okay, so there's that. There's also this reason that Greg Abbot, the governor of Texas, does not deserve any grace. This isn't about his stress system and the border. Not when you do it in the COVID of night, not when your mo is to trick people and [00:11:32] harm the environment too by chartering this private plane at who knows how much lot of money and just drop them off. I can handle a crisis. Can I get a little heads up? Even the plane ride, if you give me a few hours heads up, I maybe could prepare for [00:11:48] people. I went to graduate school in Chicago, was fortunate enough. And it's not just cold, right, Rayyvana? It's the kind of cold that goes right through you. So this is a painful thing as intended.