Chicago mayor plans ‘base camps’ for migrants — with few specifics
- Hundreds of migrants are currently sleeping in Chicago police stations
- The city is expected to spend $255.7M on the crisis by the end of the year
- Cities have struggled to care and house migrants without federal support
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – MAY 09: Immigrants from Venezuela rest in the lobby of a police station where they have been staying with other migrant families since their arrival to the city on May 09, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot issued a state of emergency on Tuesday amid a surge in migrant arrivals which began in August 2022 when the first group of immigrants were bused from Texas to Chicago by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. According to Lightfoot’s office, more than 8,000 migrants have arrived in Chicago since last year, with the city currently reaching “a breaking point.” About 500 migrants have reportedly been living in the lobbies of police precincts around the city where they sleep on the floors and rely on food donations. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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CHICAGO (NewsNation) — Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration plans to move roughly 1,600 migrants out of Chicago police stations and into tent cities, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Citing concerns about upcoming cold weather and overcrowding at police stations, Johnson told the Sun-Times that each shelter could hold up to 1,000 migrants but acknowledged that 500 would be the “ideal” number.
Johnson told City Council members on Friday that Chicago will spend about $255.7 million on the migrant crisis before the end of 2023. The “winterized base camps” are the latest short-term solution to a humanitarian issue hitting several large cities.
“These families are coming to the city of Chicago. . . . If we do not create an infrastructure where we’re able to support and, quite frankly, contain these individuals who have experienced a great deal of harm, individuals who are desperate . . . that type of desperation will lead to chaos,” Johnson said.
Democratic mayors have seen a large influx of migrants since Texas Gov. Greg Abbott began busing many of them who arrive at the southern border.
Chicago recently joined New York City in pleading for federal help. The Chicago Tribune reports Johnson recently joined Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker to call on the Biden administration to expedite work permits for asylum-seekers in Chicago. They warned that the city would be unable to support more migrants if changes are not made.
While Johnson has offered few specifics on the base camps, ABC7 reports that a five-story office building in the city’s former West Side warehouse district is being considered as a location.
In the interview with the Sun-Times, Johnson did not rule out using budget cuts or tax increases to pay for the migrant relocation.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has also criticized the federal government for not doing more to help migrants and the cities they’re arriving in.
“We’re getting no support on this national crisis,” Adams Adams said at a town hall Wednesday. “I don’t see an ending to this. This issue will destroy New York City.” Those comments were criticized as inflammatory and potentially dangerous to the safety of migrants.
Adams has repeatedly called on the Biden administration and the New York state government to help the city navigate the migrant crisis. His office said Wednesday that more than 110,000 asylum-seekers have arrived in the city since spring 2022.
New York City has received about $140 million in federal funding for shelters, which is more than any other city not on the southwest border.
The Associated Press and NewsNation affiliate The Hill contributed to this report.
