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Big migrant bus surge hasn’t happened… yet

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Illinois

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker was told to prepare for up to 25 buses full of migrants each day as Chicago struggles to shelter and keep up with an influx of migrants being sent from Texas.

The governor said the warning came from Texas, which has been busing migrants to Chicago, a designated sanctuary city, for several months. Beatriz Ponce de Leon, the deputy mayor of immigrant, migrant and refugee rights in Chicago, also reported similar guidance, noting that the buses could potentially bring in 1,250 migrants a day.

The 25 daily buses would mark a dramatic increase compared to the totals reported by Chicago so far, more than doubling the numbers arriving in a single day so far.

But, according to the city, just 39 buses brought asylum-seekers to Chicago in the seven days prior to October 13. That averages out to not quite 6 per day. In the seven days prior to October 20, just 28 buses carried asylum-seekers to Chicago, for an average of four per day. Fox 32 Sunday evening…

Since Friday, four more buses have arrived in the city.

Not to say there won’t be a surge soon. I don’t know. But it clearly hasn’t happened yet, according to the city’s documentation.

* Here’s some more data from the city…

New arrivals still in shelters as of October 13: 11,042
New arrivals still in shelters as of October 20: 11,278

New arrivals still at police stations as of October 13: 3,115
New arrivals still at police stations as of October 20: 3,014

New arrivals still at O’Hare Airport as of October 13: 449
New arrivals still at O’Hare Airport as of October 20: 660

New arrivals still at Midway Airport as of October 13: 3
New arrivals still at Midway Airport as of October 20: 10

Total exits from sheltering system as of October 13: 6,041 (+287 over previous week)
Total exits from sheltering system as of October 20: 6,523 (+482 over previous week)

The net weekly influx increase is due to the airports. As we’ve discussed, many of the O’Hare new arrivals are being flown there by San Antonio Catholic Charities, using federal money.

Also, the pace of exits from the system appears to have increased last week, but not nearly enough to make a significant dent. And while 172 leases were signed in the week of 10/1-7, that dropped to 122 in the week of 10/8-4.

Meanwhile, the city added one new shelter, Casa Esperanza, in the previous week. The shelter, in the 24th Ward, had 31 people as of Friday.

* Here’s a coverage roundup from Isabel…

* ABC Chicago | Why are migrants coming to Chicago? Newly arrived asylum seekers seek resettlement here: “Even though we might say Chicago is cold or it’s going to be hard to find, that’s not going to stop someone who now has the hope that there’s possible work,” said Deputy Mayor of Immigrant and Refugee Rights Beatriz Ponce de Leon. “It’s been helpful to hear that from the folks who are on the ground.” Every one of them has legal papers that they visibly hold close, but this is just the beginning of a complicated legal process, that even seasoned immigration lawyers in Chicago are still learning to try and help navigate. “Immigration can issue them a notice to appear in Chicago. That doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s been filed with the court order that he’s gotten to the court in Chicago or that the court system in Chicago recognizes them. So they’re given this address, and there’s lots of different addresses in Chicago that people are given. And they’re coming to Chicago with hopes of entering the system, however the system is quite backed up,” said Ellen Miller, pro bono manager for National Immigrant Justice Center.

* WNIJ | Advocate hopes state grant will give housing relief to some asylum seekers already in Elgin: The city of Elgin received a 1.27 million dollar state grant to support asylum seekers. The biggest portion will assist asylum seekers with housing needs, just as the temperatures begin to drop. Centro de Información is expected to administer the rental and utility assistance program. … “Let me tell you, when I told our caseworkers that, to start putting a priority list together, because this funding was approved for the city of Elgin, they started crying,” Ortega-Ehreth said. Rental assistance programs for asylum seekers were previously limited to those who were staying at shelters in Chicago.

* Block Club Chicago | Chicago Needs 18,000 Coats For Migrants. Here’s How You Can Help: One Warm Coat is working with nonprofits around Chicago — including Cradles to Crayons, Chicago Lights and Erie Health — to collect the outerwear by the end of October. Beth Amodio, the organization’s president and CEO, said the group needs coats in every size from infant to men’s 4XL. Coats should be clean and new or gently worn, and they should not have stains, holes or broken zippers, according to the group’s website.

* The Guardian | More than 14,000 asylum seekers were sent to San Diego. Local support systems were overwhelmed: Pinheiro and other organization leaders are highlighting the role of immigration authorities in creating the bottleneck at these transit centers. They say CBP is transferring migrants from Texas and Arizona to be processed in San Diego, and that border patrol has in recent months detained hundreds of migrants in the open air, exposed to the temperature variations of the desert and without sustained shelter or services, in a kind of no man’s land between the two walls that comprise the border with Mexico.

* STL Today | St. Louis looks to resettle Latino immigrants now in Chicago: The St. Louis effort is focused on attracting people who came to the United States legally under the “humanitarian parole” program begun last year by the Biden administration. The program is limited to people from Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and Haiti.

* KOMO | Tukwila church stretched thin with migrant influx despite state of emergency declaration: TUKWILA, Wash. — A church in Tukwila continues to see an increase in migrants showing up to their doors steps looking for shelter. The pastor at Riverton Park United Methodist church said these families are seeking asylum, but with the influx of people showing up their resources are being stretched thin.

* Reuters | US releases asylum seekers on the streets. Some suburbs bear the burden: Twice a day, Customs and Border Protection vans or buses drop off asylum seekers at the transit center in Oceanside, a city of 172,000 about 50 miles (80 km) north of the border, say humanitarian organizations and volunteers who welcome the migrants and help them reach destinations elsewhere in the U.S.

* The City: New York Migrant Parents Work, Save and Worry as Shelter Eviction Looms: The notices to leave within 60 days will doubtless have a dramatic impact on the roughly 15,000 adults and children making up 4,000 families who will be receiving them. The first of those notices will come due just after Christmas, potentially forcing families to move midway through the school year. Many students already missed months or even years of schooling before their arduous journey to New York City, and have just begun acclimating to their schools.

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Oct 23, 23 @ 12:20 pm

Comments

One would think the mayor would use this as an opportunity to share a plan. Heck! Maybe even tell us what exactly happened in Texas with the trip he used tax payer money for! But I have come to the conclusion even that is too big of an ask for this administration. I have also realized we won’t get anywhere until the governor and his team step in. It is time for the rookies to step aside. Let the pros take it from here.

Comment by Step In JB Monday, Oct 23, 23 @ 12:41 pm
The plan?…Lucky Rabbit’s foot?

Comment by Dotnonymous x Monday, Oct 23, 23 @ 1:56 pm
A plan? What is this plan you speak of? I have no knowledge of such plan?

I will say, big surprise to see Ald. Ramirez’s letter to her constituent essentially throwing the mayor under the bus about his administration not communicating or letting her know they were going to put a massive tent city into her ward.

It would be interesting to see the DSA aldermen chime in if they can take a moment to stop solving all the problems of the Middle East.

Comment by Frida's boss Monday, Oct 23, 23 @ 2:06 pm
Not being flip here, but maybe Abbott wants to emphasize arresting people instead of busing them. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/18/us/migrants-buses-texas-abbott.html

Comment by Dan Vock Monday, Oct 23, 23 @ 2:45 pm