Chicago migrant crisis fans the flames of Illinois crime: retired police chief
Criminal enterprises in the Chicago area are benefiting from the migrant crisis as they recruit illegal immigrants to carry out crimes with little legal repercussions, a retired Illinois police chief said.
As illegal immigration continues to surge, Chicago becomes one of the latest cities to feel the escalating effects of the ongoing migrant crisis as Mayor Brandon Johnson prepares to enforce a 60-day maximum stay deadline for immigrants housed in temporary shelters.
The windy city will implement eviction processes beginning March 16th.
As the weather shifts to warmer temperatures, Johnson plans to enact the sanctuary city’s 60-day policy - but protesters gathered in Pritzker Park this weekend, advocated for a reversal of the upcoming plan.
President Biden recently blamed former President Trump for the current border crisis even though his administration have overseen record numbers of border crossers. December 2023 saw the highest interactions between border patrol and migrants for a single month in U.S. history. (John Moore/Getty Images)
‘The Chicago Tribune’ reported that people at the rally had signs that read "Stop the Evictions" and "Brandon do Better" as those in attendance chanted "Refugees are welcome here."
Miguel Alvelo Rivera, executive director of the Latino Union of Chicago who was at the protest, said, "People are going to be forced out of shelter. People are going to the streets, and people are not given any direction as to how to sustain themselves, how to sustain their families. They want housing, but they can’t pay for it."
Mimi Guiracocha, a nurse volunteer in attendance, added, "We cannot evict our new neighbors from shelters only to set them up for failure and a second eviction. We need enough funding and better living conditions inside current shelters, and then we need to increase the money that we’ve put into subsidized housing and programs and ensure that utilities and other wraparound services are covered."
SECOND CASE OF MEASLES CONFIRMED AT CHICAGO MIGRANT SHELTER
Denver is another major city struggling to deal with the influx of migrants. (Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)
Reina Isabel Jerez Garcia, a migrant from Columbia who will be evicted from a shelter within the next month under the new policy, commented on the shelter’s "horrible conditions" and limited housing and work opportunities for immigrants.
"They want to put us out on the street. What are we going to do when we’re on the street if we don’t have work permits? How can we get work if we’re not allowed to work," she said. "I know Chicago is one of the richest cities in the United States, in the world. In such a rich place, why isn’t there enough for all of us?"
Chicago isn’t the first state to propose an eviction plan to tackle shelter overpopulation.
Recently arrived migrants in a makeshift shelter operated by the city of Chicago at O'Hare International Airport on Aug. 31, 2023. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images) ((Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images))
Johnson’s 60-day policy follows suit of what other sanctuary cities have been forced to enact due to the increasing number of undocumented migrants across the nation that overflow cities’ outstretched resources.
Earlier this year, Denver was inundated with over 40,000 migrants as a result of the border crisis, and the city’s shelter time limits have a maximum stay of "14 days for individual people and 42 days for families with children."
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Chicago had to resort to housing migrants at O’Hare International Airport to address the number of undocumented migrants.
"It’s not just about people being forced out. It’s about finding placement for people. In the event that the deadline does come, people will have an opportunity to re-enter into the shelter system. But the main goal, of course, is to move with expedition people on to a life of sustainability," Mayor Johnson told the Tribune.
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