A Chicago neighborhood located near a makeshift shelter for immigrants is pushing back against the influx of asylum-seekers being housed in the building, arguing the shelter is taking away vital resources and programming from the community.
Edgewater residents put together a report for Chicago officials highlighting the impact of turning the Broadway Armory into a shelter on the hundreds of families living near the building, according to the Chicago Tribune. The community is lodging complaints that the families are not getting the programming that they used to, asking the officials to stop housing immigrants in their area.
The neighborhood is one of several in the Windy City being affected by the wave of immigrants from the southern border, with residents in similar neighborhoods blasting the city for ignoring their existing needs. Since August 2022, 608 buses have arrived from Texas at the direction of Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX), bringing more than 34,000 immigrants into Chicago. There are 28 shelters in operation within the city, holding 14,967 shelter members as of Jan. 16, and the city disbanded its plan to create new shelters, citing high costs.
Chicago is beginning its first round of evictions from the shelters despite the freezing February weather, arguing that the shelter system has been at full capacity for months.
Pat Sharkey, convener of the Coalition of Edgewater Block Clubs and Residents’ Associations, helped author the neighborhood’s report and told the local outlet that she planned to send it to several city officials on Wednesday.
Sharkey said the city has closed 54 programs and classes at the armory after Chicago decided to turn it into a shelter. Eighteen other programs were relocated to other parks. However, Sharkey said many residents can’t or don’t want to travel to another part of the city for programming, particularly for sports such as basketball and gymnastics. The city’s report found that enrollment for the neighborhood’s programs has decreased by 73%.
“There were 1,200 people using the armory in fall of 2022 and there are no classes being held there now,” she said to the outlet. “It’s heartbreaking.”
Edgewater residents heard Chicago officials were eyeing their armory as a possible immigrant shelter site in May, sparking immediate concern from residents participating in Chicago Park District services for senior citizens and youth. City officials told Edgewater residents that they would reevaluate the immigrant shelter location at the armory after six months, Sharkey said, but the neighborhood has not seen any signs that they plan to do so.
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Hussain Mohammed, 22, who lives in Edgewater, reportedly said that the armory served as a social hub for children from hardworking families.
“A lot of our parents were immigrants coming from the African and Pakistani community, so a lot of our parents are taxi drivers,” he said. “They had to work late at night, and so they weren’t able to pick us up from school.”