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.