Chicago closing several migrant shelters
CHICAGO (CBS) —Three migrant shelters in the city of Chicago will soon close, removing some 3,000 beds as the city said this would save taxpayers money, and it comes as fewer migrants arrive in Chicago.
The number of migrants arriving has decreased due to the president's executive order limiting who can cross the border and seek asylum. The shelters in Pilsen and West Town will close on October 1, and one in Hyde Park will close on October 24.
More than 1,000 migrants will be moved from the three shelters. After those shelters close, migrants will be assigned to one of the 14 shelters the city continues to operate and still receive the same services from the state.
The city is coordinating with Chicago Public Schools to ensure a seamless transition for students. Officials said they initially anticipated a higher volume of migrants after the influx from Texas last year. Altogether, nearly 48,000 migrants have resettled in Chicago.
Since then, the city has been faced with dire circumstances. At the Pilsen shelter, a measles outbreak and a five-year-old boy died of sepsis in December.
The city said it did everything it could, and now it's time to make financially sound decisions as it works to tighten its budget.
"Our community has done everything we possibly can and this kind of ends the cycle for us in a temporary shelter that provided emergency for as long as we could," said Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th.)
"Throughout this year, we were able to open enough shelters to the point where we had excess capacity. And as we looked at making fiscally sound decisions we knew that we needed to downsize the shelter system in the fall," said Beatriz Ponce De Leon, Deputy Mayor for Immigrant, Migrant and Refugee Rights.
The deputy mayor added they are looking to see how they can further tighten their budget. In the meantime, she said they remain ready and prepared if we are to receive another influx of migrants, which they do not anticipate.