Chicago looks to close five immigrant shelters and reopen facilities to the public – Washington Examiner

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said, starting Saturday, five facilities being used to house illegal immigrants would be reopened to the public, as “they are no longer necessary.”

The five parks used to shelter immigrants are a part of the city’s New Arrivals Mission in which Chicago, a sanctuary city, provides asylum to illegal immigrants who have been bused to the city from the Texas-Mexico border. On Saturday, efforts to transition immigrants out of five shelters will begin, allowing residents to resume using the Park District facilities popular for sports activities and summer camps.

“We are grateful to the alderpersons and communities who have embraced new neighbors with open arms, and we are pleased that these park facilities will be transitioned back to their intended purpose in time for summer programming,” Johnson said in a statement.

The five shelters are holding about 800 immigrants combined, the Associated Press reported. City officials will relocate them to other nearby shelters, while the five facilities prepare for reopening, Johnson said.

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Chicago has spent $300 million on shelters for asylum-seekers, but Johnson was recently accused of not being transparent about where all of the money was going. Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) has bused 34,000 illegal immigrants to the city, with some shelters receiving as much as $344,000 a week, which taxpayers have funded.

Johnson said the facilities would be reopened within “the next several weeks.” At the beginning of 2024, 14,717 immigrants were living in 27 shelters across the city, but as of Monday, 10,555 are being housed in 23 shelters, according to CBS Chicago.

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