Migrant tents outside of Englewood police station. (Photo by Marcus Robinson)
Migrants who for months have lived in Chicago’s 22 police stations have been relocated to emergency shelters, Mayor Brandon Johnson announced on December 18.
As of December 14, all 22 Chicago police stations have been “retired as emergency staging areas.”
News reports on December 13 revealed that 354 migrants were living in police stations, down from a high of more than 3,000 in mid-October, according to city data.
Johnson said in recent weeks, nearly 4,000 migrants have been moved to temporary shelters.
“I am grateful to city workers, faith leaders and everyone working toward this stage in the new arrivals mission,” said Mayor Brandon Johnson.
“I also extend gratitude to the police officers across our Districts who continued to perform their duties while managing this humanitarian crisis, as well as the mutual aid volunteers who spent countless hours outside police stations providing care and compassion to asylum seekers.
“The decompression of all 22 District stations is a key step forward in the mission.”
The city has welcomed nearly 26,000 asylum seekers since the first buses arrived from the Southern border in August 2022, and is currently providing shelter for nearly 14,000 asylum seekers in 27 temporary city shelters.
Last week, construction of a winterized tent in Morgan Park was halted after Mayor Johnson and Alderman Ronnie Mosley (21st) put on hold plans to build one at 115th and Halsted.
Last month amid protests, the City Council voted to approve the purchase of 6.5 acres of land formerly occupied by the Jewel Osco supermarket. Since 2003, residents had been waiting for the construction of the Morgan Park Commons affordable housing development to be built on the site.
The scrapped plans came a week after Governor Pritzker announced a similar decision for a winterized migrant tent in Brighton Park at 38th and California on the West Side. He cited an environmental study that found toxic metals on the site.
Governor Pritzker said at a December 13 press conference, GardaWorld, the private security firm building the Brighton Park tent camp, would absorb the cost of the construction that was halted when the plan was called off.
“They knew, as they were building this shelter before the environmental report came in, that it was possible the environmental report wouldn’t allow the completion of the shelter,” Pritzker said, “And so they understood that, and they were willing to take that liability.”
GardaWorld signed a $29-million deal with Chicago and a $125-million deal with Illinois to build tents for the migrants. Mayor Johnson said the city has successfully resettled or reunited over 10,000 asylum seekers while providing shelter, food and wraparound services for more than 15,000 others.
Nearly 26,000 migrants have come to Chicago since Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott began busing them to Chicago in 2022. Last month, in response to “rogue buses” dropping off migrants late at night, Mayor Johnson announced a new policy that would impound and tow buses that failed to meet new safety standards passed by the City Council.
Johnson said bus companies have also attempted to drop passengers in nearby municipalities, including Rosemont, Cicero and Schiller Park to skirt the law. Nearby municipalities have begun to pass similar safety ordinances to discourage bus companies from dropping asylum seekers without proper coordination. They will also be fined $3,000 on top of storage and towing fees.
On December 13, Chicago officials towed and impounded a bus attempting to drop individuals off without a permit. The bus originated in Eagle Pass, Texas, and had 49 passengers.
On Monday, December 18, Governor Abbott signed into law a bill that makes entering Texas illegally a state crime. Migrants attempting to cross Texas’ 1,254-mile border could be arrested and thrown in jail.
The new law may set up a showdown between Texas and the federal government, which already has immigration laws in regard to migrants. But Abbott, Republicans and some Democrats have criticized President Joe Biden’s administration for not enforcing laws amid the surge in migrants.
