Alderpersons, activists urge Mayor Brandon Johnson to halt migrant evictions
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A coalition of City Council members, community groups, and others gathered at City Hall ahead of Wednesday's City Council meeting to urge Mayor Brandon Johnson to put an immediate end to the city's policy of evicting some migrants from city shelters, which went into effect on Sunday after multiple delays.
Three migrants were evicted from city shelters on Sunday, and five more have been removed since then under the city's 60-day shelter limit policy. The start of evictions came after the Johnson administration announced Friday that families with children enrolled in Chicago Public Schools would be allowed to stay in shelters until the end of the school year, essentially exempting most migrants in shelters from the eviction policy until June.
Under the new policy, more than 2,000 migrants will be evicted by April 30. The next round of evictions is set for later this month and is expected to affect more than 200 migrants.
Last week, a coalition of 21 alderpersons, seven other elected city officials, and representatives from 48 community organizations signed a letter urging Johnson to end the migrant shelter eviction policy.
Ahead of Wednesday's City Council meeting, they said the mayor should replace the eviction policy with a new shelter policy that addresses how long migrants can stay on a case-by-case basis.
"The city should not be in the business of handing out evictions. No one in need of shelter, whether they are newly arrived or whether they were born and raised here, should ever face the fear and instability of being evicted from a city shelter, knowing they have nowhere else to go," said Ald. Andre Vasquez (40h), Johnson's hand-picked chair of the City Council Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
Vasquez led the effort to send the mayor a letter demanding an end to the eviction policy. Their letter noted many of the newly arrived migrants facing potential eviction soon have not yet received work permits from the federal government. They are not eligible for rental assistance, making it difficult for them to be able to arrange for permanent housing.
At a press conference after Wednesday's City Council meeting, Johnson declined to say if he would consider revoking or otherwise changing the city's shelter limit policy. However, he said the city's approach to helping care for migrants is not sustainable long-term without "significant federal intervention."
"I've said from the very beginning that this mission is not sustainable. Local municipalities are not designed to deal with an international global crisis, particularly as it relates to migrants and asylum seekers, and it's never been designed to do that," he said.
Johnson said he would continue to work with state and Cook County government officials
to build this operation around the humanity of people."
"But the reality is that we have restraints. We just do; we've always had them," he added.
The alderpersons who have urged Johnson to end the eviction policy also want Gov. JB Pritzker and state lawmakers to provide funding for up to six months of rental assistance for newly arrived migrants and for President Joe Biden to issue an executive order issuing work permits for all new arrivals.
