(NewsNation) — Nearly 2,000 migrants are living in tents outside police stations in Chicago as city officials scramble to relocate migrants before the temperatures drop further.

As of this week, the city has been able to relocate migrants from at least five police stations, a statement from Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications confirmed, noting the urgency “in anticipation of the winter weather.”

However, more than 1,700 migrants are still awaiting placement at shelters, which is only the first step to a more permanent solution.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is now pledging to move forward with his plan to build “winterized base camps,” which will house up to 2,000 asylum seekers. However, multiple locations are still being considered.

The plan has already drummed up concerns among Chicago residents, even sparking protests in neighborhoods city officials are considering as locations for the case camps.

“We hear the frustrations. We hear the concerns. And getting to the other side of this is going to take all of us,” Johnson said.

Johnson says he plans to begin removing migrants from the temporary shelters into the winterized base camps starting in January.

Chicago resident Travis Wilson tells NewsNation he has seen the conditions migrants are living in first-hand, saying the city’s lack of help has inspired a church near one of the police stations to step up by providing donations to migrants as they await placement.

“Lakeview Luthern Church has been trying to help with assisting and allocating spare insulations, whether that’s blankets, tarping or spare tents,” Wilson said.

Since August 2022, more than 25,000 migrants have been bussed or flown to the Windy City from states like Texas and Arizona, posing a challenge for city officials to provide sufficient housing.

The overwhelming surge in migrants is being felt in big cities around the U.S., including in New York City.

There, Mayor Eric Adams has been pleading with the Biden administration to provide assistance for months, as the city houses over 65,000 migrants.

“This is probably one of the most painful exercises I’ve been through. When we look at police with the number our police officers are going to be and how we’ve done so well dropping crime in our city, when we look at school safety, when we look at other initiatives we’re doing, this is going to be incredibly painful for New Yorkers. That is why we continue to say we need help,” Adams said.