Chicago will evict some 5,600 illegal immigrants from city shelters in waves beginning on Sunday, as Mayor Brandon Johnson’s new rule limiting migrant shelter stays to 60 days takes effect.
Thirty-four illegal immigrants will be evicted on Saturday as the policy finally kicks in, after having been delayed on multiple occasions since November because of cold weather.
While exemptions will be made for illegal immigrants who have medical conditions, are in the process of securing housing, are experiencing domestic violence, or are pregnant, others who have overstayed the 60-day limit will be evicted in the coming weeks and told to report back to the city’s “landing zone,” a temporary shelter where migrants stay on parked city buses, where they can reapply for a bed.
As the policy takes effect, 244 more illegal immigrants will be removed by month’s end, after which 1,782 are expected to face eviction next month, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Still, the evictions represent just a fraction of the 11,200 illegal immigrants currently living in the city’s shelters.
New York City implemented a 30- to 60-day limit on illegal-immigrant shelter stays in the Big Apple in the fall, prompting Johnson at the time to tout Chicago as a more welcoming city.
“Policies that are impacting population shifts around the globe is affecting us all. These are asylum-seekers. These are not illegal people,” he said at the time.
However, the city has now done an about-face after having shelled out $160 million to care for the illegal immigrants.