Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson got cold feet, apparently, and he won’t be going to the southern border after all. He is going to stay home in Chicago and send aides to the border to take a look for him.

Less than two weeks ago, Johnson said he would go to the southern border and see for himself the Biden border crisis. I should have known that was too logical. The mayor of a sanctuary city who now complains that illegal aliens are being bused from the border to his city should go to check out the situation for himself. He should understand why Governor Abbott is taking sanctuary cities up on their hospitality. Political leaders in sanctuary cities who say all are welcome and legal status does not matter should be held to their word. Lots of cities jumped on that bandwagon during the Trump years so there are lots of places to bus the illegal aliens. Chicago is one of them.

A delegation led by Beatriz Ponce de Leon, deputy mayor of immigrant, migrant and refugee rights, will lead a small delegation to four Texas cities that are the primary points of departure for migrants traveling to Chicago by bus and air: El Paso, San Antonio, McAllen and Brownsville.

The group will review operations at federal processing centers and talk with local stakeholders about ways to alleviate “financial and operations challenges” at both ends.

The team also wants to establish “better lines of communication” about the steady stream of buses now ignoring the city’s 11 p.m. curfew, and “share information about extreme housing and weather conditions” now facing the 18,500 asylum seekers who have already reached Chicago. More than 3,500 migrants are currently sleeping on police station and airport floors.

All righty then. Officials in border cities will be happy to share information and suggestions to the people from Chicago.

So, why the U-turn? His Deputy chief-of-staff said that Johnson thinks it is of more value for him to remain in Chicago to oversee the city’s response to the illegal aliens arriving. That is what the staff he is sending to the border is supposed to do, but, whatever. It’s duly noted that he did not keep his word.

One alderman said a trip to the southern border by Johnson wouldn’t have accomplished anything anyway.

Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd), chair of the City Council’s Committee on Public Safety, said Johnson did the right thing by calling off a trip that “wouldn’t have accomplished anything.”

“They tried to put together an itinerary that would have some substantive meetings as well as photo ops. And for various reasons, it just didn’t seem to come together,” Hopkins said.

That’s an interesting flex to cover for a cowardly elected official. If the trip doesn’t matter and isn’t important, then why is he sending aides to do his job?

It is most likely because once he goes to see the Biden border crisis for himself, he would probably understand the humanitarian and national security crisis it is. A trip to the border even helped NYC Mayor Adams, who did show up when he said he would, understand what is going on. He still doesn’t appreciate migrant buses arriving in New York, but them’s the breaks.

The migrant buses are not going to stop going to sanctuary cities, including Chicago, until the southern border is secured by the Biden administration. That is what Governor Abbott said since he began the migrant bus initiative. My money is on Abbott keeping his word.