Tenfold surge in migrants arriving in Chicago fuels crisis, aldermen told, as families sleep in police stations: ‘This is unacceptable’

For nearly three hours Friday, Chicago aldermen met in an impassioned joint hearing on budget and immigration and refugee rights to discuss the influx of migrants arriving in Chicago daily, overwhelming nonprofits and city social services.

There has been a tenfold increase over the past 10 days in daily arrivals of migrants, said Brandie Knazze, commissioner of the Department of Family and Support Services. Migrants — often families with children — are now sheltering in police station lobbies across the city. Knazze said the city used to receive 10 people per day; that’s now risen to as many as 100.

Advocates and city officials say the potential for crisis is growing, with migrants arriving with injuries, health needs and underlying conditions after surviving in substandard conditions for weeks or months on their journeys to the United States.

“How many kids (do) we have currently in our police districts waiting for assistance?” shouted 25th Ward Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, who migrated to the U.S. himself as a teenager. “I personally know of several in our districts that have been already waiting for two or three days. ... This is unacceptable, and I do expect from our city and our colleagues to make sure that we work collaboratively to make sure that we have solutions that go beyond the narrative.”

Last fall, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott began sending busloads of migrants to Chicago to protest new arrivals in his state. But now, individuals and families are arriving from Texas on planes, said the city’s chief engagement officer, Nubia Willman.

Upon arrival, the city used to bring migrants to safe spaces like local hospitals, Willman said. Shelter requests are immediately made through Chicago’s 311 system, and the city partners with community organizations to transport migrants to shelters that have availability, said Matt Doughtie, manager of emergency management services at Office of Emergency Management & Communications.

“Historically, any unhoused individual could wait at their local hospital or police station for placement from 311. However, due to the influx in wait times, medical partners requested that they no longer be used as respite,” Willman said.

Knazze said the situation has “drastically changed” in the past 10 days — with many children forced to sleep on the hard floor of police stations. It’s easier for single men to find shelter beds than families, she said.

Knazze called recent arrival numbers “a surge” that will only increase after an anticipated May 11 expiration of the Title 42, a 2020 U.S. policy that tightened border regulations to stem the spread of COVID-19.

She emphasized that the immediate solution is to increase the amount of appropriate shelter spaces around the city, like decommissioned schools, vacant commercial properties, church properties, park district facilities and other properties.

Though there are many empty buildings in Chicago, not all can be turned into shelters, Knazze said. An appropriate shelter space must house at least 250 people; Knazze said; there needs to be space for eating, restrooms and the ability to have showers and laundry services. Buildings must pass fire, safety and environmental tests. Doughtie said the city has explored the viability of approximately 200 various facilities and conducted site visits to approximately 50.

The city has established 20 shelters since the 108 buses were sent from Texas, said Doughtie from the OEMC. Twelve of them have closed, leaving just eight remaining, he said.

Doughtie also said the OEMC established a planning cell within their Emergency Operations Center to develop a “Surge Plan” in anticipation of the end of Title 42. The plan includes 13 courses of action, or potential options the city can take if it finds itself in different situations. It includes estimated costs of each plan of attack.

But none of this work can be done without appropriate funds at the state and federal levels, said Chicago budget director Susie Park. The total anticipated cost for January through June, is $124.8 million, which includes planning for the current surge to reach a peak of 4,700 new arrivals per day, Park said.

Leveraging state and city funding and anticipated funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency still leaves a shortfall of approximately $53 million to meet needs through June 30 alone, she said.

With migrants crowded at stations in their wards, aldermen responded with emotion. They raised questions about how they could best help facilitate these shelter efforts.

Ald. Michael Rodriguez, 22nd, said that he has been struck by the significant amount of tension between city, state, federal, and nonprofit entities in recent conversations. He suggested the creation of a multi-agency resource center.

“I’m worried about the way in which we’re collaborating or not. There’s a lot of pointing fingers,” he said. “Why don’t we have a federal entity here sitting next to you, Commissioner Knazze, talking about their response here?”

Knazze said that the city recently instituted a 30-day maximum stay time in shelters to try to help lessen the strain on Chicago police. Most stay for longer, she said.

“People are leaving the shelter system, but I just want to be clear, the pace we’re getting new arrivals — the outflow does not match the inflow. And so that is why there is a bottleneck,” she said.

A resettlement plan is just as important as a comprehensive shelter system, added Marisa Novara, commissioner of the Department of Housing. Resettlement programs include case management and rental assistance managed by community partners in collaboration with the state.

A spokesperson for Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker told the Tribune that a total of more than $200 million in both state and federal funding has been committed to housing asylum seekers both in and outside of Chicago.

“Since December 2022, the state has approved 652 household applications (nearly 1,900 people) through the Asylum Seeker Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ASERAP). As of today, 46 people remain in hotels and are on a path to resettlement,” a Pritzker spokesperson said in a written statement.

Cook County Health has been providing care to asylum seekers since the influx began late last summer. County board President Toni Preckwinkle told reporters Wednesday that the county needed “a total of $28 million to continue supporting the healthcare needs of our asylum seekers,” and that she planned to lobby for the funds in Springfield early next week.

State payments covered roughly $1.5 million of the total $1.7 million in monthly costs for care provided at CCH. But those payments stopped on February 1, Preckwinkle said.

Ald. Rossanna Rodriguez, 33rd, thanked the volunteers who have been stepping up to coordinate support and provide meals to families sleeping in police stations.

“This has been a really difficult and painful time,” she said.

Rodriguez asked about the possibility of allowing migrants at police stations to shower, even as they wait to hear back from 311. She asked if there was any way to provide cots that could be folded and then put away.

“We’re unable to do storage of those items,” said police Commander Robert Vanna. “Personal items that are part of the belongings of asylum seekers is a different conversation, but the day-to-day storage of those things is something that we’re unable to do at this time.”

Ald. Samantha Nugent, 39th, thanked the OEMC for its hard work responding to the ever-changing situation.

“We’re dealing with people. And you can’t just tick a box with people. They have unique circumstances,” she said. “The city (is) handling a humanitarian crisis at large that is bigger than this city. It is bigger than us. It is a national problem that has to be addressed on the federal level, and so we can’t do this all by ourselves.”

Chicago Tribune’s A.D. Quid, Jeremy Gorner and Dan Petrella contributed.

nsalzman@chicagotribune.com

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