Chicago delays migrant shelter limits; Pritzker asks Texas to stop dropoffs - CBS Chicago

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By Todd Feurer

Updated on: January 12, 2024 / 1:21 PM CST / CBS Chicago

Chicago suspends shelter limit for migrants Chicago suspends shelter limit for migrants02:03

CHICAGO (CBS) -- With an extended period of frigid cold and wind chills coming for much of next week, Chicago will delay enforcement of a 60-day shelter stay limit for migrants who are approaching that deadline in the coming days.

Meantime, Gov. JB Pritzker sent Texas Gov. Greg Abbott a letter, urging him to stop sending migrant to Chicago amid a dangerous winter storm that is bringing heavy snow ahead of a bitter cold stretch next week.

"The next few days are a threat to the families and children you are sending here. I am pleading with you to at least pause these transports in order to save lives," Pritzker wrote to his Texas counterpart. "I plead with you for mercy for the thousands of people who are powerless to speak for themselves. Please, while winter is threatening vulnerable people's lives, suspend your transports and do not send more people to our state."

Chicago Department of Family and Support Services Commissioner Brandie Knazze announced Friday that the city is suspending enforcement of its 60-day shelter limit at least until Jan. 22, if not longer, depending on the weather.

A group of about 50 migrants who had been in shelters since 2022 had received 60-day notices to leave between Jan. 16 and Jan. 21. Knazze said only 17 of those migrants were still in shelters as of Friday, and those who are still in shelters have been connected with rental assistance to help them move into permanent homes, but might be waiting for utilities to be turned on, or otherwise not yet ready to move out of shelters. They will be able to stay in shelters at least until Jan. 22.

Knazze said more than 600 other migrants were coming up on a deadline to exit shelters on Jan. 22, and the city is working with those asylum seekers to help them get rental assistance if available, or to otherwise find a permanent place to live with friends or family. Migrants who don't have somewhere to go when they reach the 60-day deadline will be able to apply for an extension to stay in city shelters.

"We will continue to re-evaluate this situation and prioritize safety," Knazze said alongside Mayor Brandon Johnson at a press conference to discuss the city's winter storm.

Meantime, in his letter to Abbott, Pritzker said continuing to send buses and planes of migrants to Chicago amid heavy snow, with bitter cold on its way, could cost lives.

"You are now sending asylum seekers from Texas to the Upper Midwest in the middle of winter — many without coats, without shoes to protect them from the snow — to a city whose shelters are already overfilled with migrants you sent here. Chicago's temperatures this weekend are forecast to drop below zero. Your callousness, sending buses and planes full of migrants in this weather, is now life-threatening to every one of the arrivals. Hundreds of children's and families' health and survival are at risk due to your actions," Pritzker wrote.

Pritzker said he agrees with Abbott that the nation needs immigration reform, but accused Abbott of having no interest in working on true bipartisan solutions to the migrant crisis.

"Instead of advocating for that, you have chosen to sow chaos in an attempt to score political points," Pritzker wrote. "We refuse to play your political game of exploiting the most vulnerable for the sake of culture wars and talking points."

Pritzker letter to Abbott on Migrants on Scribd

The city is expected to get 4 to 6 inches of snow by Saturday morning, with some far western and northern suburbs getting 6 to 12 inches.

Behind the storm, bitterly cold arctic air will spill into the region this weekend into early next week. Temperatures are expected to plunge to near or below zero by early Sunday, with wind chills falling to -20° or colder. Temperatures are expected to stay in the single digits or below zero through Wednesday, and then only climbing into the teens for highs through early next week.

As of Friday morning, 141 migrants were staying at the city's official landing zone, where the only available shelter is a group CTA buses and school buses that are serving as temporary warming shelters while those asylum seekers wait for space in brick-and-mortar shelters.

Johnson said a total of 10 warming buses were at the landing zone on Friday, and more would be brought in if needed. The mayor also said the city is providing migrants at the landing zone with blankets, warm clothing, meals, and medical support. The city also will coordinate with the Chicago Park District to take migrants to park fieldhouses for showers.

"I especially want to reassure everyone that we are utilizing the full force of our entire city to support the new arrivals. My administration, along with mutual aid organizations, community partners, and intergovernmental partners, all of us have been hard at work to coordinate shelter and provide food, hygiene, healthcare services to our new arrivals," Johnson said.

The state also has begun construction on several heated tents that will serve as a new intake center to provide migrants with various services, although the tents are not going to be used as shelters. The state is working with Catholic Charities to help migrants at the landing zone resettle outside if Chicago if they don't want to stay in the city.

Todd Feurer

Todd Feurer is a web producer at CBS News Chicago. He has previously written for WBBM Newsradio, WUIS-FM, and the New City News Service.