CHICAGO — The city will close three of its migrant shelters next month, eliminating more than 3,000 available beds as a cost-cutting move and amid an excess in capacity, officials confirmed Tuesday.
Prior to last month’s Democratic National Convention, city officials feared an influx of additional migrants sent by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott as a form of protest. That surge never happened, leading to the closure announcement.
“It appears that the number of people crossing the border has been significantly diminished because of the policies of the Biden-Harris administration” Gov. JB Pritzker said Tuesday in reacting to the news of the city’s plans.
Slated to close by October 1 are shelters located in the Lower West Side neighborhood, at 2241 S. Halsted Ave., and in the West Loop, at 344 N. Ogden Ave. A shelter located in East Hyde Park, at 4900 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive, will close by October 24.
“We knew that at a certain point we were going to begin to consolidate our shelters because we had over 50 percent capacity available,” said Beatriz Ponce de León, Chicago’s Deputy Mayor of Immigration, Migrant & Refugee Rights.
Ponce de León pledged to reduce disruption for existing shelter families whenever possible. As of Wednesday, city data showed about 5,400 migrants in 17 active shelters run by the city and state.
Chicago has welcomed approximately 47,772 new arrivals since June 2023, the city said.
Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th Ward) said the Halsted shelter is long overdue for closure. Five-year-old Jean Carlos Martinez Rivero of Venezuela died there last year of sepsis, with critics pointing to unsanitary and dangerous conditions.
The city faces enormous fiscal challenges, with officials announcing Monday an immediate hiring freeze to address a nearly $225 million budget deficit for 2024. That shortfall is forecast to balloon to nearly $1 billion for 2025.
The city has spent at least $128 million caring for migrants who arrived in Chicago between January 1 through the end of August, according to city data.