Top aide to Mayor Brandon Johnson leading delegation to Mexico border amid Chicago migrant crisis
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A small delegation of Chicago officials led by a top mayoral aide arrived in El Paso, Texas, on Tuesday to see for themselves where migrants are crossing the border into the U.S.
Beatriz Ponce de Leon, deputy mayor of immigrant, migrant, and refugee rights, joined three aldermen and other city leaders visiting the Mexican border to get to the root of the migrant crisis in Chicago, and better inform the city's response to the influx of asylum seekers.
Mayor Brandon Johnson did not join them, staying behind with other top aides as the city continues to struggle finding sufficient shelter space for the thousands of asylum seekers who have arrived in Chicago since last August.
Over the past several weeks, Chicago has consistently seen more than 3,000 migrants sleeping in police stations or at the city's airports as they wait for space in city-operated shelters.
West Side residents rallied on Tuesday to stop migrants from moving into the mayor's own back yard at the Amundsen Park fieldhouse. The mayor's office put plans for a shelter there on hold, amid pushback from Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29th) and neighbors, and is looking at the possibility of using a vacant building nearby instead.
Meantime, construction appeared be underway in Brighton Park to build the city's first migrant tent base camp at 38th and California.
After CBS 2 aired renderings of the Brighton Park facility, Ald. Julia Ramirez (12th) wrote a letter to her constituents saying, "city officials are working with the property owner of the vacant lot at 38th and California Ave to open a climate controlled temporary shelter for migrants."
A community meeting to discuss details of the plans has been scheduled for 6 p.m. on Oct. 24 at Kelly High School.
"I have heard from residents concerned about safety and resources for our community. I want to reassure residents that public safety for our entire community is my top priority. I also want you to be open minded and not buy into the fearmongering and false information being spread by right-wing, anti-immigrant voices who wish to divide our city," Ramirez wrote. "We are a nation of immigrants and people that are fleeing economic and political turmoil deserve an opportunity for a better life in this country. I will be meeting with local stakeholders and leaders to ensure our community is prepared and we have the best outcome possible for our residents and the new arrivals."
Across the city, at Amundsen Park, neighbors had sought a court injunction to stop the city from moving migrants into the fieldhouse.
"We are not okay with having our park taken away from our seniors, and from our children, from our youth," said Cata Truss, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit seeking to block the fieldhouse from becoming a migrant shelter. "We are not anti-migrant. We understand that they are in a precarious situation. But guess what? So are we."
Neighbors said programming for elderly and youths at Amundsen Park already has been relocated to another facility, and the park's fitness center has been closed.
"When I went up in there, they told me 'we're closed,'" Aarius Sutherland said.
A security car parked outside on Tuesday signaled more movement at the fieldhouse.
But a Cook County judge declined to immediately issue an injunction on Tuesday, telling neighbors they have seven days to prove the situation is an emergency, after attorneys for the city said they have not decided whether the fieldhouse will become a migrant shelter.
"If you're not going to use Amunden Park as a migrant shelter, why move the programs?" Dwayne Truss said.
The mayor's office did not immediately respond to a request for an update on the work being done at 38th and California, or on a decision about the Amundsen Park fieldhouse.