Migrants no longer guaranteed beds in Chicago, could be evicted as mayor cuts back on shelters

Hundreds of migrants living in Chicago’s shelters could be evicted in the coming months as the mayor finally cuts back on the city’s overburdened shelters.

Starting Tuesday, only migrants who have been in the city for 30 days or less will be eligible for a bed in one of the 13 migrant shelters in Chicago, Mayor Brandon Johnson‘s office said.

Migrants already in the system will also be barred from reapplying to a shelter when they hit the city’s 60-day stay limit, with officials only making exceptions for pregnant women and those suffering from an illness or disability.

The policy change was made over the new unified shelter system set to take effect at the start of 2025, which will combine the city’s migrant shelters and homeless shelters.

As of Monday, there are nearly 5,000 migrants living in Chicago shelters, with at least 1,200 to face eviction come January when the new system is fully implemented, CBS News reported.

More than 2,700 migrants have already been booted from shelters since Chicago began enforcing a 60-day limit in March, but about 75% of them have re-entered the facilities having nowhere else to stay, according to the city’s housing data.

Johnson blamed the current situation on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who began sending buses and planes full of migrants to so-called sanctuary cities over the past two years.

While the Windy City has tried to make due, Johnson said a lack of an appropriate budget and the need to prioritize the city’s native homeless population has forced his administration’s hand.

“Could this lead to people on the street? Look, I’ll be remiss if I did not acknowledge the financial straits that we are experiencing right now and the impact that that’s going to have on this mission,” Johnson said at a city hall conference Monday.

“I don’t want to see anyone lose, right? But the harsh reality is that we can do what we can afford,” he added. “We’ve been stretched to the limits.”  

Johnson appeared to cast blame for the current situation on what he described as “stingy and greedy” conservative groups who opposed his failed “Bring Chicago Home” referendum in the spring, which sought to raise taxes to pay for more beds in the city’s shelters.

The city has so far closed four migrant shelters in October, including ones in Pilsen, the Loop, Hyde Park and West Town.

The state said it would shut down another migrant shelter in the Little Village neighborhood come Nov. 3.