Migrants ride a Metra train to Chicago after traveling by bus from El Paso, Texas, on April 3, 2024, in Wilmette. More than 44,000 migrants have been sent to Chicago by bus or plane over the last two years and the city’s struggle to keep them housed, fed and safe has stretched resources and sparked fierce debate over how scarce tax dollars are spent.
Cities such as Chicago with access to bodies of fresh water are set to fare better with climate change and as a result will see migration increases, said Vasquez, the committee’s chair. A group of migrants exit a bus after traveling from Texas in the West Loop on Dec. 5, 2023 in Chicago. Those who arrive in Chicago often need housing or work and have to do so practically from scratch after having lost everything from their support structure to their cars. But governments struggle to quickly connect them with the resources they need, Guzmán said. They might come after a single major disaster or from “decadeslong, steady movements,” she added.
Vasquez argued the city needs to combine its shelter systems for both people who are experiencing homelessness and for migrants to prepare for what is ahead. It’s an idea homelessness advocates have long championed and one Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration has announced his administration is working toward.