Photo: Getty Images via New York Post.
Helping recent migrants put a strain on overworked cops in Chicago.
There are no easy stories about migration. Although most people would rather make a good life at home if they could, many launch themselves into the unknown with a vague idea that someplace else will be safer. As a popular destination, however, the US has not been on top of things for a very long time.
In one example, described by Eric Cox and Ted Hesson at Reuters in May, our confused system left “Chicago’s new mayor [grappling] with how to house hundreds of migrants arriving on buses from the U.S.-Mexico border, with some sleeping in police stations and shelters strained after border crossings. …
“Officials in the third-largest U.S. city have said they cannot afford to rent hotel rooms for all arriving migrants and have pressed for more federal funding. Some migrants seeking a safe place to sleep have turned to police stations.
” ‘We’re waiting to see where they’re going to place us,’ said Tomas Orozco, a 55-year-old migrant who arrived at a Chicago shelter on Wednesday with his family after an arduous seven-week journey from his home country, Venezuela.
“The trip took them through the Darien Gap, an inhospitable jungle separating Colombia and Panama, and his family members were still sick from drinking contaminated water, Orozco said. …
“Earlier this month, Texas Governor Greg Abbott [resumed] a campaign of busing migrants to Democratic strongholds further north, including Chicago and New York City. The busing aims to alleviate pressure on border cities and call attention to what Abbott says were overly lenient policies by Biden’s [administration].
“On Thursday, Texas began busing migrants to Denver, where [Mayor] Michael Hancock is already struggling to house new arrivals.
“New York City Mayor Eric Adams … has called on the Biden administration to provide more funding to cities. Adams suspended some of New York’s right-to-shelter rules last week, citing the strain of housing asylum seekers, and is considering using school gyms as shelters.
“Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson … reaffirmed the city’s commitment to welcoming asylum seekers in his inauguration speech, saying ‘there’s enough room for everyone.’ …
“Dean Wynne, who owns a Chicago building serving as a temporary shelter for nearly 200 migrants, said families were ‘subdued and quiet’ on the first day they arrived.
” ‘By the second day, I could see little kids were playing around, playing catch, kicking the ball and stuff,’ Wynne said. ‘They were just happy.’
More at Reuters, here.
A more recent article, from July, may be read at the Chicago Sun-Times, here. Said one migrant through a translator, “You can rest, but this isn’t life. … I’m happy to work because that’s my goal. Because I want to fight and learn each day a little more than what I knew.”
The immigrants I’ve worked with as a volunteer in ESL classes are often suspicious of police in their home countries. I imagine the Chicago experience is unsettling, but then, maybe not as unsettling as that dangerous trip.
Suzanne's Mom's Blog 
Thanks for this information. I hope that cities, social services and religious communities will step up to help the newcomers.
Thinking about those Venezuelans and the long, slow collapse of their government. What a tragedy to watch play out! I don’t know much about the history. No doubt the seeds of disaster were planted generations ago.
Very tragic. I have not read as in depth about Venezuela as I have about Argentina and Chile. I’ll look into it.