Cold persists as migrants await housing in Chicago, New York City

(NewsNation)  —  It was 28 degrees on Monday in New York City’s Bushwick neighborhood, warmer than previous days but not warm enough to warrant the opened-toed shoes some migrant children donned at a local clothing distribution.

 “We’ve had at least four kids come wearing either sandals or clogs just this morning,” said Maria Herron, founder and co-director of the Mil Mundos bookstore, which also operates the nonprofit Mil Mundos en Común. “So definitely, winter shoes are still needed. Coats are still needed. Socks are still needed. I think the shoes and the socks are the biggest thing right now.”

Monday’s clothing distribution was part of a series of mutual aid efforts throughout New York City geared toward providing essentials to asylum-seekers and securing housing while bitter winter weather takes hold.

More than 168,000 asylum-seekers have come through New York City’s intake since spring 2022. The city currently houses about 69,000 people across more than 215 emergency sites.

In October, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced that migrant families with children staying in the city’s shelters would begin receiving notices to vacate after 60 days.

Those notices began arriving last week, prompting nonprofits to help evicted migrants find shelter and warm clothes during the frigid weather. Otherwise, families must reapply for housing, sometimes staying overnight to wait in line.  

About 20% of adults receiving 30-day or 60-day notices remain in the city’s care after their notice expires. A spokesperson for Adams’ office told NewsNation that four out of five people evicted move on to receive some sort of housing.

Others are in limbo as they await reassignment, Herron said, speaking anecdotally.

“We’ve been talking with friends of ours who are being reassigned to shelters, and a lot of them are being told they can’t leave — that they’ll lose their place in line if they leave,” she said.

Chicago is also among those nonborder cities struggling to find housing for the hundreds of thousands of migrants who have arrived by bus or plane since August 2022.  

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker wrote a letter last week asking Texas Gov. Greg Abbott not to send migrants to Chicago while temperatures plummet to dangerous levels, the Associated Press reported.

“As we grapple with the existing challenges of your ongoing manufactured crisis, the next few days are a threat to the families and children you are sending here,” Pritzker wrote. “I am pleading with you to at least pause these transports to save lives.”

Abbott replied he would not stop the “voluntary” trips “until President Biden steps up and does his job to secure the border,” the AP reported.

Texas, however, is also bracing for harsh winter weather, NewsNation’s local affiliate KXAN reported.

Since Aug. 2022, Chicago has received more than 30,000 new migrant arrivals and established 27 temporary congregate shelters at a rate of one shelter every six days, according to an official online dashboard.

It takes time to retrofit buildings into congregate shelters, however, and in the meantime, the city has relied on police stations and airports to serve as emergency staging areas.

The Harold Washington Library is also expected to remain open through at least Wednesday as a 24-hour warming center. The building’s first floor is open to those who need to escape the cold, including asylum-seekers, NewsNation’s Chicago affiliate WGN reported.

The city is expected to open additional warming centers as freezing temperatures persist.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office could not immediately be reached for comment.