City working to move Chicago migrants into shelters, but hundreds remain outside CPD stations

Oak Park migrants: Many living outside 15th District moved to suburban shelters

ByCraig Wall WLS logo

Tuesday, November 21, 2023

Chicago working to move migrants from outside CPD stations

The city is working to move Chicago migrants into shelters, but hundreds remain outside CPD stations.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The city of Chicago is taking steps to get more migrants out of police stations and into shelters as the administration moves ahead with plans to put up winterized tents in the coming weeks.

But, on the West Side, volunteers are preparing for more migrants to arrive at a police station there.

There have only been a handful of migrants staying at the 15th District the last two weeks, since most of them were relocated to shelters in Oak Park.

But with the city expecting five more buses Tuesday bringing new arrivals from the southern border, the situation there is about to change.

The city has made it clear: With colder weather on the way, its goal is to move all migrants out of police stations and into actual shelters.

As of Tuesday morning, there were approximately 1,500 new arrivals camping out at various police districts around the city, awaiting placement

Willander Hernandez, 28, just arrived Monday night. He said he is cold and hungry and was led to believe he would be sent right to a shelter.

Instead, he finds himself camping outside the 1st District in the South Loop. He said he was told everyone there was going to be moved out by Dec. 1.

Annie Gomberg is a volunteer working to assist migrants brought to the 15th District on the city's West Side.

"I recently heard from OEMC (the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications) that we would be expecting two of the five buses to come to District 15 today, which can be usually around 40 people," Gomberg said. "So we would expect if they do come to be repopulated tonight."

Over the weekend, the city moved all the migrants out of the 18th District in the Cabrini-Green neighborhood. More of these so-called decompression efforts are expected in the days ahead.

In Brighton Park, work is now underway to prepare a site to be one of two properties where the city will set up winterized tents to house migrants.

Police were on the scene Tuesday to keep the peace after protesters blocked trucks from getting into the site on Monday.

Meanwhile, volunteers like Gomberg say they will just keep doing their part regardless of the challenges.

"The only thing I ever have to ask myself is 'what would I want? If I was on the bus instead of in my cozy house, what would I want people to do?' That's what allows you to keep going for a very long time," Gomberg said.

The city is hoping to have the base camps up and running in just a matter of weeks. That shelter space will be badly needed, as buses with new arrivals are expected to continue coming to Chicago with no end in sight.

A new initiative launched Tuesday hopes to address the migrant crisis, and people experiencing homelessness in Chicago.