Volunteers are working to house, clothe and feed arriving migrants, with several temporary shelters set up in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood, NBC Chicago’s Vi Nguyen reports.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson stopped by the 12th district police station Tuesday afternoon to meet with migrant families just one day after being inaugurated as efforts continue to find housing in the city.
“Do you like Chicago so far?” he asked one couple.
Hundreds of migrants arriving from Texas have been sleeping in the lobbies of police stations throughout the city waiting to be moved into temporary shelters as they await asylum hearings.
“We are grateful that you’re here and we’re going to do everything we can to make this place a real home for you,” he told them.
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Hope Church in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood opened its doors last week to help.
“We’re making a difference in a time of crisis,” said Pastor Dawn Kooistra. “I understand that this is the largest migration of people in the last 100 years especially coming out of Venezuela.”
It’s one of two churches in the area now approved by the city to serve as a temporary shelter to house migrants.
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“They’re looking forward to being part of America and sending their kids to school and finding jobs,” she said. “I think for many of them they had a very long journey to get here.”
NBC 5 learned two more locations are being looked at in Pilsen. 25th Ward Ald. Byron Sigcho Lopez said the list incudes Arturo Velasquez Institute and the former Komensky School.
38th Ward Ald. Nicholas Sposato said Wright College in his ward is also being considered to house migrants. He’s been working to get information from the city about the proposed plan.
“I’m not going to support anything that my community doesn’t support,” he said. “If my community supports it, I have no problem with it. If they’re against it— I’m against it.”
Back in Pilsen, people continue to drop off donations at the church, including Wendy Moore.
“They need every single thing that they desire from toiletries to clothing to laundry detergent,” she said. “I mean there’s nothing, they came with nothing.”
Moore is part of the congregation and said in her heart this was the right thing to do.
“This is what God tells us to do to help our neighbors,” she said. “Do to on others that we want do unto us. This is the first golden rule and I’m happy to do it.”
