Since August 2022, Chicago has welcomed over 35,000 individuals and families via buses and airplanes sent by Texas Governor Abbott and non-government organizations in Texas, Colorado, and New York. The majority are seeking asylum from Latin America, Asia, Eastern Europe, the Caribbean, and the African continent due to US foreign policy that has created unstable economic and political conditions compromising their safety and forcing them to travel thousands of miles to safety. U.S. cities have not traditionally had the infrastructure to resettle high numbers of immigrants and refugees.  This is federal responsibility.  Seeking asylum is an internationally protected right afforded to everyone.  

To see the most recent data, please see the New Arrivals Daily Snapshot. 

While most asylum seekers are from Venezuela, individuals and families are also from all over the world, including countries from the Caribbean, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. 

The City works in collaboration with the State of Illinois, Cook County, delegate agencies, community-based organizations, and mutual aid organizations to provide support for new arrivals.  

Shelters are open 24/7, with a curfew of 11 pm. Every shelter has onsite case managers that help connect new arrivals to the services they need, including: healthcare, mental health, family reunification, and other supports.

Individuals at these shelters are focused on rebuilding their lives and creating stability for themselves and their families back home. Many are building new support networks, often with help from case managers, and connect with local faith-based institutions to find community. 

The City of Chicago can provide for both the needs of new arrivals and local residents. This is a both/and operation. In addition to the supports structured for new arrivals, the City continues to invest in new, long-term homeless solutions, including developing new non-congregate shelter spaces and increasing permanent supportive housing options.

The City also invests in housing-first strategies to help house people. The City of Chicago invested over $117 M to transform the overall response to homelessness. One of those investments included continuing the investment in rapid rehousing beginning with the Expedited Housing Initiative (EHI), which uses $35 million in CARES funding to house over 1,800 households. Moving forward, another $35 million will be invested to house another 1,300 households and help 1,000 currently housed individuals remain housed. 

The City has not diverted funding from the homeless shelter system to support the new arrival mission and we are working to enhance and expand services for unhoused Chicagoans. Mayor Johnson’s budget proposal includes $250 million continue investments in new, long-term homeless solutions, including developing new non-congregate shelter spaces and increasing permanent supportive housing options.  

At this time, our shelter partners cannot accept “walk-up” volunteers due to security and safety concerns for minors and vulnerable populations on-site. However, there are a myriad of mutual aid organizations who are in search of volunteers. To learn more, see a list of mutual aid organizations. Residents can also volunteer directly with our partner organizations.

The City of Chicago stood up brick and mortar shelters. Twenty-eight temporary shelters currently house over 14,200 residents to support their path toward self-sufficiency. However, nearly 200 asylum seekers and other migrants are sleeping at O'Hare airport as they await shelter placement. 

• Resettlement. The City of Chicago and the State of Illinois will continue to welcome new arrivals with dignity, help meet their basic needs, and connect them to resources that put them on a path to self- sufficiency and resettlement.  Together, we will provide limited temporary shelter, enrollment support for public schools, case management for State benefits and legal services to apply for asylum or Temporary Protective Status, health care services, and State-funded short-term rental assistance while new arrivals pursue legal employment authorization. 
• Facilitate outmigration for individuals and families who want to reunify with family members and sponsors beyond Chicago. Catholic Charities provides travel support and confirms sponsors on the receiving end. Additionally, the City will Work with State to identify locations outside of Chicago for resettlement hubs to share the responsibility of Welcoming State. 
• Coordinated federal advocacy with County, State, Illinois Congressional delegation, and external partners to reduce the financial and operational burdens, and to secure increased funding that will cover comprehensive sheltering and resettlement work in Illinois.  

Five core asks: 

1. Nationwide coordination of resettlement to receiving cities/States with a single federal leader, 
2. Donated use of Federal land and buildings for sheltering throughout Illinois such as military bases and training facilities,  
3. Flexible use of federal funding for sheltering operations and overall expenses.  
4. Resources and technical assistance for expedited Temporary Protective Status (TPS) and employment authorization document (EAD) processing, and 
5. Expansion of TPS and EAD for all non-citizens. 

Non-citizens need authorization from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to work. USCIS requires individuals to apply for an employment authorization document (i.e., EAD/work permit).  

After submitting and confirming receipt of an asylum application to USCIS, new arrivals must wait 150 days to apply for an EAD to legally work. Working without legal authorization can compromise their chances of obtaining status to lawfully stay in the United States.  

On September 20, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security announced the extension and redesignation of Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months. Venezuelan nationals (roughly 75 percent of those who have come to Chicago since August 2022) are afforded TPS if they crossed the border by July 31, 2023. This allows a streamlined process to obtain an EAD and protection from detention and deportation.

The State of Illinois, City of Chicago, The Resurrection Project, and the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) are hosting a series of legal clinics to help those eligible for TPS/EAD submit their applications. 

The goal of the 60-day limited stay policy is to accelerate how new arrivals engage with the emergency shelter system. The City can continue to support existing residents on a pathway to self-sufficiency while also maintaining our ability to meet the immediate needs of new individuals and families arriving in Chicago daily, including providing direct access to public benefits and other supports during their 60-day stay.

Under extenuating circumstances individuals may be granted temporary extensions. This includes medical crises or extreme cold weather. Individuals with a signed lease with a move-in date after the end of their 60-day period may receive an extension until their move-in date.

If other arrangements have not been made and the resident is not eligible for an extension at the end of their 60-day stay, they may return to the landing zone and request a new shelter placement.

Rental assistance

• Our goal is to leverage all resources to assist with resettlement efforts.
• Rental assistance may be available to eligible households: 
  • Shelter residents who arrived to shelter on or prior to November 16, 2023, will maintain eligibility to apply for rental assistance.
  • Shelter residents who arrived to shelter on or after November 17, 2023, will not be eligible for rental assistance. 
• All new arrivals will remain eligible for the following resources: IDHS public benefits via Victims of Trafficking, Torture, or other serious Crimes (VTTC), a health home via Cook County Health, assistance with school enrollment at Chicago Public Schools, and other resources and supports available through the Illinois Welcoming Center network.

Legal services for immigration matters 

• In partnership and close coordination with the State of Illinois and our federal partners, the City is quickly ramping up efforts to connect eligible new arrivals to Temporary Protected Status (TPS), Employment Authorization Documents (EAD), and assistance with their asylum case.
• Our combined goal is to assist 11,000 new arrivals with TPS/EAD by February 2024

Yes. New arrivals who enter shelter on or after November 17, 2023, will receive a 60-day stay notice upon intake

60-day notices will be rolled out in phases beginning with those that have been in shelter the longest:

• New arrivals who entered shelter in 2022 will receive a 60-day notice beginning 11/17/2023.
• New arrivals who entered shelter between 1/1/2023 - 7/31/2023 will begin receiving 60-day notices on 12/4/2023.
• New arrivals who entered shelter between 7/31/2023 - 11/16/2023 will begin receiving 60-day notices on 2/1/2024. 
• All new arrivals to shelter on or after 11/17/2023 will receive a 60-day notice upon intake.

To apply for the state’s Asylum Seeker Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ASERAP), a resident must have secured a lease. They may secure a lease in two ways:

• Working with a Catholic Charities Resettlement Case Manager and submitting an ASERAP application with the help of a shelter HSS provider
• Finding their housing, signing a lease on their own, and submitting their ASERAP application via the Fast Track option.

Yes, they can be reunited, but their 60-day exit date would remain the same.

Yes, residents should make every effort to make other housing arrangements.

The Department of Housing has resources available for renters here.

Rental assistance information is available here.

Through support of the State of Illinois, legal services and case management will be available to help individuals apply for Temporary Protected Status, Employment Authorization Documents (EADs), and Asylum. We will connect individuals to other resources as they become available.

All new arrivals will remain eligible for the following resources: IDHS public benefits via Victims of Trafficking, Torture, or other serious Crimes (VTTC), a health home via Cook County Health, assistance with school enrollment at Chicago Public Schools, and other resources and supports available through the Illinois Welcoming Center network.