Schoolmates, teachers heartbroken as migrants move from North Side YMCA to Southwest Side college
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Buses of migrants moved Tuesday from a West Rogers Park YMCA to Richard J. Daley College miles away on the Southwest Side.
As CBS 2's Sabrina Franza reported, the move is frustrating some local leaders back in West Rogers Park – who say the new arrivals were already a part of their community.
For hours in the rain, teachers and students stood in solidarity waiting for their new neighbors to be bused away from the former High Ridge YMCA, at 2424 W. Touhy Ave. off Western Avenue, to Daley College at 7500 S. Pulaski Rd. – on the opposite end of the city.
We are told after hours of debate and discussion over the weekend, there was no way the families could stay at the YMCA building.
On Monday afternoon, accordion-style Chicago Transit Authority buses were parked outside the High Ridge – which has not been in operation as a YMCA since January 2021.
Many migrants wheeled their brand-new suitcases through the puddles and the rain, later to pack their belongings.
Volunteers handed out T-shirts with the name of their nearby school – Philip Rogers Fine Arts Elementary School at 7345 N. Washtenaw Ave. For a short time, the children who had come to seek shelter at the old YMCA attended the school.
According to the migrants' teachers, and even some fellow students, no one wanted the migrant children to relocate.
But they were told it is necessary for the families to move out of the YMCA building to make room for adult men who have been sheltering at police stations across the city.
The men will move to the old YMCA, while approximately 40 families.
"A lot of the families have expressed to me that they haven't felt a sense of community in a long time – and it's just kind of heartbreaking," said Victoria Rosario, a teacher at Philip Rogers Fine Arts Elementary.
Teachers told us 23 students who had been staying at the YMCA building were enrolled at Rogers Elementary. Students hugged their departing former classmates – saying goodbye not just because of summer vacation, but because the migrant youngsters won't be in class with them come fall."
"We met Alba and Zarett. They live over there," said Casey Hallett, a rising third-grader at Rogers Elementary. "We're both in third grade, and we've been seeing each other a lot. We went to a festival together. We went to an ice cream shop together."
Casey's friends – migrants who found shelter at the old Y – are going to have to transfer to another school.
"We really hope that they come back soon to visit us," Casey said.
The migrant families are being made to leave just as their children have been getting used to their new school, said teacher Rosario.
"They've attended graduation, and kindergarten celebrations, and all those things," Rosario said. "Feeling sadness."
One migrant, Alexander Roa, spoke to us through an interpreter.
"He doesn't feel sad. He's grateful for the time that they were able to shelter them there," said the interpreter for Roa. "He is grateful that they can move to a new place; a lot more space for them."
Roa came to Chicago from Venezuela with his wife and 4-year-old daughter. His dream is to find a steady job – so one day, they can move out of their next shelter and into an apartment of their own.
The teachers we met at the old Y stood in the rain for hours to say goodbye to their former students. They said they are going to keep pushing to bring the migrant classmates back to Rogers Elementary – even if by bus.
So far, there is no official plan to make that happen.
We reached out to the Mayor's office, which issued this statement:
"The City of Chicago is in the midst of a national humanitarian crisis that requires collective responsibility and humane action to provide safe spaces for new arrivals seeking asylum. The City's overall goal is to ensure that shelters are a short-term solution, and to relieve pressure on Chicago Police Department district stations by providing shelter for more than 400 single new arrivals. After careful consideration of the impact this would have on asylum seeking families and the overall mission and to provide more time for planning by the receiving community as well as consider possible alternatives to Daley College a final decision was made to move the migrant families from High Ridge YMCA to Daley College today. To allow for a smooth transition, migrant families at the High Ridge YMCA relocating to Daley will be able to utilize similar programs offered by CPS at Hurley Elementary and at Stevenson Elementary School. The families will also receive the same services they had at YMCA that are offered at all City shelter locations. The Daley College community has been very welcoming to the new arrivals already in residence, and we are certain they will provide a warm welcome to these families as well."