Chaos Ensues in Chicago’s First Round of Migrant Evictions from City Shelters

The Chicago mayor’s office said that they would be forcing 34 migrant evictions on Friday, but reportedly only three migrants ended up actually leaving during the weekend. These migration eviction waves come from a new policy the city established in November that migrants can only be sheltered for a maximum of 60 days. Volunteers say the rollout of the policy has caused chaos.

“First, in partnership with the State of Illinois, the City is increasing personnel at the landing zone to help new arrivals reunite with their friends, family, or verified sponsor,” the statement read.

“Second, the City is regulating “rogue buses” which cause unnecessary logistical obstacles for intake and put the lives of new arrivals in danger – particularly as the temperatures drop. New regulatory tools will allow the City to cite and fine bus companies that disregard curfews, landing zone locations and loading/unloading protocol.”

“Finally, the City will implement a limited stay policy along with additional supports from the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS). For individuals and families currently in City shelters, the City will be issuing 60-day exit notices in waves based on their arrival date to shelter.” 

“For many new arrivals, Chicago is not the final destination. By aiding new arrivals at the point of arrival, the City can save space in the shelter system for those individuals and families who plan to stay in Chicago.”

The City of Chicago hopes to have a total of 2,026 people evicted from shelters by April 30, with more coming in the following months.

Any residents exiting shelters have the option of returning to the landing zone to be reprocessed all over again as long as beds are available.

“Our city is committed to compassion,” said Mayor Johnson. “By encouraging resettlement while also providing case-specific extensions with a focus on health and safety, we are advancing a pathway to stability and self-sufficiency.”

“While we know Chicago’s limited resources cannot meet the full scale of need across the New Arrivals Mission,” Mayor Johnson said. “We are constantly evaluating options that will lead to better care for all Chicagoans.”

“The Progressive Caucus disagrees strongly with the strategy, as it risks contributing to the city’s unhoused population and exacerbating social and racial tension at a time when we need to unite,” a statement issued by the group said.

“As progressives, we believe it is critical for all levels of government to recognize and combat the root causes that contribute to so many of society’s ills. Rather than addressing root causes, however, we fear that the City’s 60-day shelter eviction policy is worsening them,” the caucus wrote. “To address this crisis collaboratively and compassionately, we must do it together.”

If a resident has a health problem they also have the option to extend their sheltering time. With this first wave of evictions being much smaller than projected, it remains to be seen if the city’s eviction goals will be close to being met in future waves.

Data shows that a monstrous 40% increase in migration encounters occurred in September 2023 compared to that same statistic in 2021.

Take this number and compare it to April 2020, which had only had 16,000 encounters for the entire month. April 2020 was one of the lowest encounter months in decades.

The other type of action is expulsion. Instead of taking the migrant into custody, the US Border Patrol will immediately expel them to their home country if possible. If the home country cannot be determined they are sent to the last country they were in before the United States.

However, the Biden Administration reversed course, invoking Title 42 much less before eventually ending the practice in May 2023.

Before 2023, most migrants were expelled when encountered at the border, now Border Patrol has had to switch to apprehension actions a greater percentage of the time.

However, this creates a problem because many migrants flee to the interior of the country and fail to appear in court. Statista data finds that the failure to appear rate at the US Immigration Court in 2018 stood at 25 percent.

Nearly 37 percent of all undocumented immigrants since 1996 have disappeared before their trial date in court. This has been a persistent problem for decades that is being exasperated by the current border crossing conditions.

Sanctuary cities will not ask or tell federal authorities about a person’s immigration status and will still offer a range of services regardless if the person is a resident of an undocumented immigrant.

“Partnering with ICE would go against our mission to make Chicago the most immigrant friendly city in the country and turn ours into a community of fear for immigrants,” the government of Chicago said.

Chicago said “Furthermore, enforcing immigration law would take away needed resources and time from the Chicago Police Department. The Welcoming City Ordinance in fact helps CPD combat crime by allowing all victims to call the police and all witnesses to come forward without fear of being caught and deported.”

A recent city council vote in December rejected a measure to put its sanctuary city status up for a vote among its residents. Anthony Beale, the 9th ward representative, was furious about the council vote. “What are you scared of? The truth?” Beale asked.

The goal of these migrant bus transportation efforts is to force sanctuary cities to deal with the consequences of their policies, which some southern states feel they have been unfairly dealing with themselves. It would seem that these efforts have contributed at least in some way to the current Chicago migrant eviction actions.