(NewsNation) — U.S. cities in the north are facing dueling crises of growing migrant and homeless populations as temperatures begin to drop.
In New York City, about 118,000 people stay in city shelters, and over 64,000 are migrants. In January 2022, the total number in city shelters was just over 60,000, according to city data.
Now, New York City councilmembers are reportedly questioning Mayor Eric Adams about a recent report that shows a decline in everything related to housing migrants and people without homes, from the time it takes to preoccupy a vacant NYC Housing Authority building to how long it takes to cut through the red tape.
The city’s right-to-shelter law is why so many migrants go to New York City, but shelters are simply running out of space.
Meanwhile, in Chicago, there are reports that some asylum-seekers who made it to the Windy City have turned around after experiencing a recent cold front and lack of sufficient employment. Realizing the coming months would only get colder, they decided to head back toward the border or warmer cities.
As many as 2,800 migrants await shelter placement after the city’s existing shelter network has maxed out.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson announced the city plans to deploy “warming busses” at designated locations and will work with external partners and volunteers to pull together blankets, coats and other necessities to help the unhoused as the city works to move them indoors.
As these cities get colder and colder, officials are scrambling to solve a problem that keeps expanding.