Chicago begins evicting migrants from shelters, citing strain on resources

Officials in Chicago on Sunday began expelling some migrants from shelters, joining other cities that have taken similar steps to ease pressure on overburdened resources.

The process starts gradually. Of the nearly 11,000 migrants living in 23 homeless shelters in Chicago, a fraction — 34 single adults — had to leave on Sunday, according to the Office of Emergency Management and Communications.

Many people will qualify for exemptions. They will be determined on a case-by-case basis, city officials said, for pregnant women, people with certain medical problems and migrants already in the process of securing housing. Families with children can get a renewable 30-day extension.

But officials said more than 2,000 people would be evicted by the end of April. And many families with children may be forced to leave the childcare network altogether by the summer.

Backed by an army of volunteers, Chicago and other cities have found homes for migrants, enrolled their children in schools, provided food assistance and held workshops to help them fill out the paperwork to apply for work permits.

But housing migrants have drained city coffers: Chicago has received more than 37,000 migrants since August 2022. In total, hundreds of thousands of migrants have ended up in major cities in the past year.

The evictions put even more pressure on volunteers as they scramble to fill the void. Many of them said they were deeply concerned about the consequences, especially when targeting families.

“There’s a lot of fear that there will be people on the streets,” said Annie Gomberg, whose volunteer group, People’s Shelter Response, helps migrant families in Chicago.

For families in shelters, there was confusion and concern as news spread about the policy.

A Venezuelan migrant named Nelly, who declined to share her last name for fear of retaliation, said her family’s allotted time at the shelter would expire on March 19. “The social worker said there was no extension order, and we are waiting for the actual day to arrive to find out what happens,” she said.

As a mother of two children aged five and six with special needs, and a former dental hygienist in her home country, she said neither she nor her husband had found a job because they still did not have work permits. “It’s a scary situation,” she said, “because we can’t make any money.”

For months, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration had delayed enforcing a 60-day limit on shelter-in-place stays amid frigid temperatures and concerns about the impact of evicting people who might have nowhere to go.

The mayor, a progressive Democrat who took office last year, has repeatedly struck a welcoming tone toward migrants from Central and South America, while criticizing Governor Greg Abbott of Texas for orchestrating charter buses that have brought tens of thousands of migrants to Chicago.

But citing limited city services, Mr. Johnson decided to enforce the limit. And Chicago isn’t alone.

Denver began clearing hotels where migrants are staying in February. The city has received approximately 40,000 migrants.

Arrivals have declined since late last year, as they have in Chicago. So far this month, Denver has received 11 charter buses from the border, compared to seven in February — significantly fewer than in December, when 144 buses unloaded migrants. Still, the sheer number of newcomers has overwhelmed the city.

“What we have been actively doing is working around the clock with nonprofits to help families secure housing,” said Jon Ewing, a spokesperson for Denver Human Services.

“But we don’t have the resources to do this forever, and neither do the nonprofits,” he said. “It is very important to keep the numbers low.”

Hundreds of local families have taken in migrants and more are expected to do so in the coming months.

In New York, where the migrant shelter population is about 65,000, the city will begin limiting the time most adult migrants can stay in shelters to 30 days.

Some were allowed to stay longer if they met certain criteria. The new cap on shelter stays represents a major shift in the city’s right to shelter policy and is the result of months of negotiations in state court.

The city had already placed limits on how long migrants could stay in various shelters, forcing many out of their shelters and requiring them to reapply if they still wanted a bed, which is also part of Chicago’s new policy.

Families still have 60 days before they have to leave shelters and can apply to be readmitted under the new rules. The city has said that 80 percent of deported migrants eventually give up and voluntarily do not try to stay in the shelter system.

In all cities, the biggest barrier to achieving self-sufficiency for the migrants is their inability to secure a steady job without a work permit, a permit that gives them the legal right to work in the United States. Migrants who have crossed the border illegally and are seeking asylum are eligible for work authorization, but cannot apply for this benefit until 150 days after they submit their asylum application to immigration court.

Many migrants find odd jobs but have been unable to save enough money to pay sky-high rents and support their families in expensive cities, putting pressure on social services. The mayors of the cities, struggling with failed budgets, have appealed for help from the federal government.

Mayor Johnson said in a statement Friday that his city is “committed to compassion. By encouraging resettlement while providing case-specific extensions with an emphasis on health and safety, we are promoting a path to stability and self-sufficiency.”

Although migrants in Chicago who are deported will have the option to return to the city’s so-called landing zone, an intake center, to apply for admission to another facility, the possibility of being repeatedly uprooted is problematic, especially for families with children in Chicago. school.

“There is so much uncertainty and concern,” said Erika Villegas, a volunteer who has helped families secure apartments. “The families are wondering, ‘When am I next?'”

Julie Bosman and Andy Newman contributed reporting.