CHICAGO — The migrant crisis in major Democratic-led cities has eased in the year since it was a full-blown emergency.
New York City’s mayor proposed housing migrants on a barge.
Officials in some of these cities have gained a measure of control over the crisis, in part by finding alternative housing for thousands of migrants.
Even before Trump takes office, officials in some states are limiting housing options for asylum seekers.
It’s the latest round of tweaks to the state’s shelter guidelines since Healey first capped the state’s emergency shelter system at 7,500 families last year.
CHICAGO — In the year since it was declared a full-fledged emergency, the migrant crisis in major cities with Democratic leadership has subsided. However, the issue still exists.
Over a year prior, an increase in border crossings — in conjunction with Texas Gov. A huge flood of asylum seekers entered Chicago, New York, Boston, and other places as a result of Greg Abbott’s busing of people to blue cities. They slept in hospitals and police stations. The mayor of New York City proposed using a barge to house migrants. Democratic leaders even openly criticized Joe Biden for his lack of action.
Democratic-led cities are still figuring out how to house asylum seekers, but they are also wondering what to do in the event that President-elect Donald Trump decides to deport illegal immigrants, including those with temporary protected status, as the incoming Trump administration vows to deport them.
Tom Homan, the new border czar, was recently in Chicago railing against local leaders who have promised not to work with the U.S. S. The deportation of migrants by immigration and customs enforcement officials has raised concerns among Democrats and immigration advocates.
“We’re trying to determine how much of it will be genuine and how much of it will be bluster,” the Democratic Representative said. Chicago is part of Congressman Jesus “Chuy” Garcia’s district.
Finding alternate housing for the thousands of migrants has helped officials in some of these cities regain some control over the situation. Simultaneously, the number of individuals entering the United States through the southern border fell precipitously.
However, the problem is far from resolved. Although Massachusetts’ emergency shelter program costs were somewhat less than the nearly $1 billion officials had projected, they are still twice as much as the state has historically budgeted for the still overburdened system. Among the roughly 25 shelters the city has closed or is in the process of closing, New York Mayor Eric Adams announced plans to close one that can house up to 2,000 people on a former Brooklyn airfield.
In addition, Chicago closed a landing area where newly arrived people could get food, shelter recommendations, and legal aid. At the same time, the city combined homeless and migrant shelters into a single system that some claim is incompatible with serving both populations.
Antonio Gutierrez, a community organizer with Organized Communities Against Deportations in Chicago, stated, “Once the shelters for migrants close, we’re going to face an even more dire situation.”.
Asylum seekers’ housing options are being restricted by state officials even before Trump takes office…. Massachusetts Gov. Late last month, Maura Healey announced plans to lobby the Legislature to approve a new six-month stay limit and tightened eligibility requirements for families seeking temporary shelter, imposing new restrictions on the state’s still overburdened emergency shelter system.
This is the most recent set of changes to the state’s shelter regulations since Healey initially set a 7,500 family cap on the state’s emergency shelter system last year.
Her government has since progressively reduced services in an effort to combat skyrocketing expenses. In order to discourage newcomers from attempting to settle in Massachusetts, she sent deputies to the southern border and prohibited families from sleeping on the ground at Boston’s Logan Airport during the summer.
Belt tightening appears to be working as intended: the state’s Office of Housing and Livable Communities’ biweekly reports indicate that the system’s cost is anticipated to be lower this fiscal year than initially anticipated.
However, advocates caution that given the state’s housing crisis, the impending six-month limit and new eligibility requirements won’t give families in the shelter system—which includes over 3,000 families who entered as migrants, asylum seekers, or refugees—enough time to find stable housing.
The Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless’ associate director, Kelly Turley, told POLITICO, “We’re worried that it’s just not realistic to expect a majority of families to be able to secure alternative housing or permanent housing in that time frame.”.
Chicago has also reduced rental assistance after just finishing a brutal budget session.
Some of the new immigrants in Chicago have benefited from rental assistance provided by state and local programs that provide security deposits or several months’ worth of rent. According to Gutierrez, some recipients have fallen behind, frequently as a result of language barriers or their inability to find employment due to a lack of work permit.
In addition, even after the city combined homeless and migrant shelters into a single new system, new arrivals are still having trouble finding housing.
“Those represent only a portion of the realities that we encounter on a daily basis,” he stated.
