Editor's Note: This story has been updated with a statement from the Salvation Army, which runs the facility and confirmed the supervisor in question is a Salvation Army employee.
CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Newly arrived migrants in Chicagoland have made some local friends already, but those friends have told WBBM that there may be some mistreatment of the asylum seekers.
Sources close to asylum seekers housed at a Salvation Army facility in Humboldt Park told WBBM that at least one supervisor there has taken personal property belonging to the migrants and has angrily thrown items away, including their food, while yelling at them.
WBBM’s sources, who have requested anonymity due to the possible negative impacts this story could have on the asylum seekers, said they’ve received texts from the asylum seekers that describe cold living conditions inside the facility, with little to no access to blankets and warm clothing.
The migrants received cell phones from reputable nonprofit organizations in the city, some of whom met the asylum seekers as soon as they hopped off the buses that took them from Texas to the Chicago area.
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Although the migrants have pleaded to be placed under better conditions, many of them speak little, if any, English, and they expressed fear of deportation for speaking up for themselves, WBBM’s sources said.
The Salvation Army provided the following statement:
"We have confirmed that the individual is a Salvation Army employee. The behavior demonstrated is not reflective of the Salvation Army’s values and we are actively looking into the situation and taking steps to ensure that all future interactions are in line with our values and mission to meet human need."
The Humboldt Park facility is located on Christiana Avenue.
A WBBM source said the migrants at this facility have been warned against speaking to their new friends — those who have been helping the migrants navigate Chicago and the asylum seeking process, as well as helping to obtain resources.
If the migrants are caught making this kind of communication, WBBM’s source said migrants have been threatened with being locked out of the housing facility.
Sources said the migrants have been told this at night, when temperatures are coldest.
There has now been a call for the facility's supervisor to be fired or replaced. An anonymous source told WBBM: "We can do better."
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