(NewsNation) — More than 2,0000 migrants and asylum seekers face eviction from Chicago shelters in the next six weeks, but after three of nearly three dozen new arrivals were recently removed in the first wave of departures, the city’s plan for moving people out appears — at least for some — to be muddled in confusion.

City officials announced migrants who did not qualify for exemptions would be informed in person and in writing of when they needed to depart city-run facilities.

However, people who had spent an average of 94 days in shelters told the Chicago Tribune they had received no such notice within hours of their scheduled weekend departure. Migrants said they were aware they had to leave but were treated by shelter case workers with a lack of respect.

Cristina Pacione-Zayas, Johnson’s deputy chief of staff, has referred to dealing with the migrant crisis as being akin to building a plane while flying it.

They claim they reached out to other sanctuary cities like Denver and New York City seeking guidance and received nothing.

‘You have to be out when your time comes’

Evictions at Chicago shelters only began recently after Johnson elected to delay them multiple times since instituting his policy in November.

About 4,500 people were originally scheduled for eviction this spring but more than half were granted exemptions and extensions under a modified version of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s 60-day shelter exit policy, which remains under heavy criticism by other local politicians and community activists.

Other cities where more migrants have been bused from the southern border by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott have for the most part stuck to eviction deadlines.

Denver’s shelter population reached a record level of more than 5,200 migrants in early January, and so far 80% of of them have been resettled, a feat that has been the byproduct of the city remaining strict about its shelter limits, according to Jon Ewing, spokesman for the Denver Department of Human Services.

City officials established a shelter limit of 37 days for families and two weeks for individuals. The policy was later extended to 42 days for families after children were found to be homeless and living on the streets, which prompted Mayor Mike Johnston to allow families to return to shelters.

But Ewing said that even when families were permitted to return, it was clear that the city, which has spent $42 million on the crisis and is facing a $120 million budget shortfall this year, would continue to adhere to the time limits it had put into place.

“We’re still abiding by those rules — you have to be out when your time comes,” Ewing said. “But we are working with others to make sure there is a soft landing. It’s not perfect … but it’s largely working.”

In New York City, where Mayor Eric Adams established a 60-day shelter exit plan for families in October in the face of nearly 183,000 migrant arrivals, city officials had handed out nearly 36,000 exit orders by early December. As of March 10, 22,400 of those migrants had reached the end of their shelter stay, according to data provided by the city’s comptroller’s office.

Twenty-four percent of those received new shelter placements and remain in city-run facilities, the agency said. However, of the more than 22,000 who were scheduled to see their times in the shelter end after 60 days, 24% had been re-assigned to other shelters, a comptroller’s office spokeswoman told NewsNation.

Migrant housing solutions through partnerships

Chicago’s shelter population currently stands at 10,845 and 2,026 are scheduled to be evicted by the end of April. The city has seen more than 37,000 migrants arrive since 2022 and has helped nearly 15,000 resettle into other housing through a partnership with Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago.

In Denver, Ewing said that shelter residents were split among local non-profits, who began to assess the migrants’ needs.

Between the city’s high cost of living and lengthy winters, the city wasn’t an ideal landing spot for migrants who had crossed into the U.S. illegally in search of new lives, Ewing told NewsNation.

A state-funded program overseen by the Colorado Office of New Americans provided migrants with a security deposit and sometimes up to two months of rent, while local organizations helped new arrivals find housing and worked to get 1,600 authorized to work, Ewing said.

Local hotels provided blocks of rooms where migrants waiting to move into new housing could stay as their shelter limit approached. Landlords with apartments available for less than $2,000 a month made their vacant units available while other community members opened their homes to migrants.

Chicago’s evolving migrant plan

As of last week, 4,155 migrants in Chicago shelters qualify for state-funded rental assistance, officials said. Of the 31 migrants who avoided eviction, 27 did so because they had plans to resettle, according to Brandie Knazze, the Department of Family and Support Services commissioner.

But with more than 2,026 who don’t qualify for extensions or exemptions scheduled to be evicted by the end of April — the majority who are not authorized to work or have the means to cover rent, many fear what could come next.

As of Thursday, a city spokeswoman said 21 people have been asked to leave city-run shelters after a recent measles outbreak at the city’s largest migrant shelter again threw things into flux. Originally, 125 migrants were scheduled to see their shelter residencies end by March 24, a portion of the nearly 370 who were scheduled to be moved out by month’s end.

A coalition of local lawmakers led by Ald. Andre Vasquez is calling for Johnson to end the policy, saying on Wednesday, “The city should not be in the business of handing out evictions.”

Denver faces the same challenges, Ewing said, including the fear that Abbott will again surge up buses being sent from the border Although the city has experienced success in helping migrants find new lives once they leave the shelter, Ewing realizes it is no guarantee the city’s plan will continue to work.

“There’s a degree of the unknown that always exists — and it’s the same for Chicago, New York, and Denver,” Ewing said. “We face the unknown just like anyone else.”