The Paw Print

By Macarena Ugaldebada

In recent months, Chicago has taken in over 20,000 South and Central American migrants, largely from Venezuela. Venezuela has experienced major political turmoil, and economic crisis in the last decade and many have had to make the dangerous journey to reach the US by foot in the past years. This summer the numbers have skyrocketed since Texas and Florida governors have bused migrants over to cities such as Chicago and New York. 

With Chicago winter entering full swing, there have been concerns about what the winter season will look like for migrants in the city. Currently, migrants have been staying across 27 official shelters, airports, and various police stations. If you’ve driven past a police station lately, you might have noticed multiple tents outside of the stations. Many migrants who are living on the streets are not equipped with enough supplies that will get them through the winter. 

It’s important to understand the status of these migrants to truly understand the scale of the issue and what the future may look like. Most of them are currently considered asylum seekers. This means that they applied to be granted asylum in the US. The United States makes it legal for anyone to apply for asylum, however, these applications take years to be processed and are more often rejected than accepted. In the 1980s, The United States government strengthened its military in many Central American countries to prevent the establishment of the Communist regimes in that region. This led to a surge of Central American Immigration to the US. Out of the applications filed for asylum at that time, less than 2 percent were approved. 

One of the most pressing matters has been obtaining work permits for migrants. The city has gotten the Department of Homeland Security involved, and they expect to grant over 10,000 migrants work permits by February. Multiple legal organizations such as The Resurrection Project are working hard to support migrants on their paths to integration. It’s important to also note that there are undocumented immigrants currently living in Chicago who have been waiting decades to get work authorization permits and legal status since the last amnesty was granted almost 40 years ago. While granting short-term work permits to new migrants will only serve as a temporary band-aid for now, established communities deserve just as much support, and it’s understandable how unfair it seems. America has had a longstanding issue with accepting immigrants, specifically those coming from Latin American countries, into the labor force. They are often called lazy or accused of stealing jobs, however, due to a current labor shortage, people are needed more than ever to work entry-level jobs that support the economy. 

The most recently affected neighborhood has been Brighton Park. There were discussions to establish a shelter for the winter in an empty lot, however after close examination, the city found the area was contaminated with heavy metals, and unsafe for people to live in. There has been a lot of backlash from Brighton Park residents, many of whom are undocumented Mexican immigrants. They have lived in the US for decades, and are barred from receiving any type of government-issued welfare. Thousands of migrants were expected to be housed there for the winter and now because of the city’s poor planning, they don’t know what to do next. Everyone has to be equally supported, and according to Illinois Senator, Robert Peters, the truth is that “[cities are] fundamentally not built to deal with a foreign policy crisis” There has to be federal government support in order to fix the issue. In Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, more than 30,000 Ukrainian refugees were smoothly integrated into Chicago with a legal status that made their process easier. Chicago’s Ukrainian Community is also much larger compared to the smaller Venezuelan community. Therefore, it becomes an equity issue that proves the Federal Government has to step up quickly. 

Almost all CPS schools have received migrant students and are adjusting to integrate them into their communities. As a Selective Enrollment High School, Payton is unable to admit students based on their zip code, however now that CPS has made taking the selective enrollment exam mandatory at all elementary schools, we hope to welcome them soon.