Chicago builds controversial winterized tent camp for migrants

(NewsNation) — As winter quickly approaches, and with buses of migrants continuing to arrive, the city of Chicago has started working on a tent encampment intended to provide safety and warmth for asylum seekers.

Quite a bit of progress had been made on constructing the winterized tent camp as of Wednesday.

NewsNation local affiliate WGN reports the camp, being built on former industrial land in Brighton Park, will be able to house upwards of 1,500 people — but that’s just a fraction of the 22,700 migrants who’ve arrived in Chicago in the last 15 months.

Although it is located in Chicago, the camp itself is being funded by the state government.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said this project is long overdue. According to WGN, there are 13,000 migrants currently in shelters, and another 1,250 awaiting placement and sleeping at police department districts and O’Hare International Airport. Precincts were overrun only a month ago.

“We’ve been working on this for months and months, but looking at that situation, there came a point where you’re close enough to the very cold weather that we just had to step in and try to step up the effort,” Pritzker said.

However, protestors say they have concerns about the tent camp, especially its placement in Brighton Park. Testing shows there are toxic metals in the soil, WGN writes. Protestors told NewsNation it’s been that way for decades — and now they’re afraid the toxins will affect the migrants.

Another issue is transparency — those who live in the area say the city and state are not being open about what’s happening, and never sought their input. Residents say they’re also nervous for the influx of new arrivals into the neighborhood.

“This is not safe for these people, and it’s not safe for my community, the crime and everything else,” Ricardo Palacios, one of the protestors, said. “God forbid something happens here. (Do we have) enough manpower, police to come in here? Fire stations? No we don’t.”

However, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson says with winter coming fast, these “base camps” are needed — adding that the federal government needs to do more.

“The work, of course, is ongoing,” Johnson said. “Our ultimate goal is to get people off of floors, those who are sleeping outside to get them indoors.”

With the housing need ongoing, the construction at the base camp will keep going — and some people living nearby say they will embrace their new neighbors.

“We’re going to be loving, we’re going to be great with whoever’s coming here,” one resident said.