Migrants Chicago: City delegation says Texas border towns shared playbook to help manage influx of asylum seekers - WLS-TV

Thursday, October 19, 2023 11:26PM

Lessons learned at Texas border could help Chicago plan for migrants

MCALLEN, Texas (WLS) -- Chicago aldermen who traveled to Texas towns along the U.S.-Mexico border say they hope the knowledge gained can help the city better plan for incoming migrants.

In San Antonio City Hall, some of Chicago's top deputies on migrant issues got lessons from a city half our size with a transient population many times what Chicago has seen.

"I can tell you here in San Antonio, which is a city of 1.5 to 1.6 million people, we've had almost 600,000 migrants come through our city since January 2021," said Mayor Ron Nirenberg. "It's a significant challenge for us to deal with."

Chicago city leaders said it's become clear through multiple stops in multiple cities that Texas is a temporary stop for migrants after crossing the border. They're also not part of the state's efforts to send buses of migrants to Chicago.

"The city of San Antonio is not part of that. What we do here is we work with folks who are here and they have their sponsor families or next destination for asylum hearings set up," Mayor Nirenberg said.

"What we've learned is that of the individuals that have come through lately, 9% are identifying Chicago as a final destination. So having that information in advance can assist us with planning," said Cristina Pacione-Zayas, deputy chief of staff for Mayor Brandon Johnson.

With a migrant population of more than 18,000 and counting, Chicago's challenge is more permanent.

"Chicago has become a resettlement city so our efforts have to be different," said Deputy Mayor for Immigrant and Refugee Rights Beatriz Ponce de Leon. "What we are proposing is that we partner with these border cities to do advocacy at the federal level to fund us in the ways that we need."

Federal emergency management money reimburses San Antonio for the cost of their Migrant Resource Center. In a well-orchestrated partnership, the daily operations for more than 1,000 migrants are managed by Catholic Charities.

"They are willing to share their playbook for the migrant resource center so that we can build out ours in collaboration with the state of Illinois, so that can save us some time to work smarter, not harder," Pacione-Zayas said.

Some aldermen said they will cut the trip short after 12th Ward Ald. Julia Ramirez was swarmed and harassed at a protest at a migrant camp being built in Chicago.