A Chicago-area suburb plans to build a migrant shelter and is requesting millions in funding to help cover the cost. The news comes as a number of Chicago residents and public officials have criticized Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) for being too supportive of the tens of thousands of migrants who have entered the city in the last several years.
The plan for the shelter in Evanston, Illinois was announced by Mayor Daniel Biss (D). The city hopes to apply for part of the $20 million in grant funding to turn a former office building into a migrant shelter.
Cook County, Illinois, where Chicago is also located, created a $100 million “disaster response and recovery” fund which includes money for dealing with the current migrant situation.
The mayor requested support from the Evanston City Council, stating in a memo that the migrant shelter could be “an asset to the City as we see increased migration for climate or other reasons. On the other hand, it could place meaningful strain on the City.”
The plan could include a $2 million operating cost each year. The rehab of the building would require a number of migrants and could eventually house between 60 to 65 migrants.
The city also received attention for passing a reparations package for its Black residents in 2021.
Chicago has been one of the largest recipients of migrants in the last several years. The flow of illegal immigrants into the country has increased substantially since President Joe Biden took office in 2021 and even further when his administration announced the end to the Title 42 asylum policy last year.
Every state is a border state under #BidensBorderCrisis.
A surge of 183,000 new illegal migrants in NYC since the spring of 2022. In Chicago, more than 37,000.https://t.co/eu2tK1OyKi
— NRCC (@NRCC) April 2, 2024
Residents have expressed outrage over a number of migrant shelters in the last two years. This includes a former school being turned into a migrant shelter in the city’s South Shore neighborhood. A number of migrants have also been housed in the city’s police precincts.
An increasing number of public officials and candidates have spoken against Johnson’s policies, including a significant number of Democrats.
