Brandon Johnson’s administration launches campaign to relocate immigrants to permanent homes.

Chicago Mayor Explores Permanent Housing Options for Immigrants

Chicago Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson and his administration are embarking on a mission to find permanent housing solutions for immigrants who have been bused into the Windy City over the past year. However, they face numerous challenges, including securing funds.

Since August 2022, more than 10,000 asylum-seekers have arrived in Chicago on buses sent by Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) from the southern border state. Chicago became the third Democratic city to receive immigrants in this manner.

Seeking Sustainable Solutions

Following the influx of immigrants, Chicago officials have temporarily housed them in police station lobbies and large concrete shelters. Now, the city is actively seeking proposals to establish a community-based approach that requires both accessible funding and a sustainable staff, according to Cristina Pacione-Zayas, Johnson’s deputy chief of staff.

The Chicago City Council approved $51 million in funding at the end of May to create housing for immigrants and asylum-seekers. However, with the state legislature already allocating over $42 million in immigrant aid for the entire state, Chicago has had to search for additional funds.

Pacione-Zayas revealed that the city plans to allocate $25 million for six months of rental assistance for over 6,500 immigrants, along with $15 million to address overall homelessness. However, she acknowledged that the plans are still evolving as the city seeks immediate solutions to the daily influx of immigrants.

“You can characterize our strategy as ultimate resettlement,” Pacione-Zayas said, emphasizing that this is not a problem that can be resolved within a few weeks.

The city also needs to consider the next steps after the six-month rental assistance period. Officials are engaging in discussions with the state and national employer organizations to explore potential partnerships.

“Let’s be real. We know that folks are going to need some way to sustain after the rental assistance expires,” Pacione-Zayas added.

Several migrant shelters in Chicago are already at full capacity, leaving immigrants to sleep on police station floors and struggle to secure permanent housing. The overcrowding has resulted in poor living conditions.

In April, efforts began to resettle some immigrants from city-operated shelters to more permanent areas. The Chicago Department of Housing allocated $4 million for the Asylum Seeker Emergency Rental Assistance program. As of now, 109 households have been resettled into permanent housing, and 285 have signed leases or are in the process of moving within the next 15 to 30 days, according to Pacione-Zayas.

Out of the $51 million approved by the City Council, $47 million will be used to pay contractual staff who manage the shelters day and night. However, city officials have realized that the staffing policies established by former Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration are not sustainable for the increasing number of immigrants in Chicago.

“What we learned, and what was very troublesome because it is not sustainable, is that the staffing of our shelters has been done by contractual staff,” Pacione-Zayas explained. “And in many ways, these are the same staff that had staffed up healthcare spaces during COVID. They’re incredibly expensive. They’re national staffing companies. And it is not sustainable to move forward. That is not something we should continue to justify.”

Ultimately, Pacione-Zayas stated that the city will seek proposals from community-based providers to either staff shelters or have volunteer-led shelters “deputized to be a delegate agency.”

The city is hoping for shelter staff that is “culturally congruent, linguistically responsive, and trauma-informed,” she added. “And we want to make sure that the investment that we are making goes into the pockets of Chicagoans.”

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