EDITOR'S NOTE: This report was first published Dec. 11.
CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — During the season of giving in the Loop, many of the holiday shoppers who have flooded downtown have had to contend with newly arrived migrant families on Chicago’s cold sidewalks.
“We always like to take a trip here before Christmas just to see the lights and shop, and take in the town here,” said Ross, from Rockford.
Ross, who was visiting the nativity scene with his wife at Daley Plaza’s Christkindlmarket, stopped to talk with WBBM after getting a selfie with baby Jesus.
“Christ is part of Christmas, that’s the reason for the season, right?” he said. “It’s important to us, and that’s why we take time to look at the manger scene.”
Ross was asked if he drew any similarities between the story he celebrates and the ongoing story of young, Venezuelan mothers who traveled through eight countries to find no room in Texas — and no room in Chicago. He said Chicago, as a sanctuary city, should take care of its implicitly invited guests.
He added, though, as his wife begged him not to get roped into this conversation, that he doesn’t know whose responsibility it is or should be.
“You have to make a place for people,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s necessarily the City or the State, but someone should do it.”
WBBM also caught up with Elka, who was on a two-day holiday trip to Chicago from Madison, Wis. The German-born woman said she was ultimately impressed with the city’s German-style outdoor holiday market.
Elka, though, pointed to a nearby migrant family with a cardboard sign that read: “In need of work, shelter and winter items.” She added that this was a sight one would not see in Germany.
“They’ve got migrants coming all the time, coming from across the Mediterranean,” she said.
In Germany, Elka said temporary housing for migrants is procured — whatever it takes.
“They have turned city hall buildings, schools into temporary housing to house refugees,” she said. “You can’t have people on the street. I don’t care if it’s 32, 20 degrees or 60 degrees.”
Although she was an out-of-towner, Elka shared one idea that immediately struck her as a viable option for temporary migrant housing.
“I see a lot of empty office buildings and stuff … I don’t know how many there are; we’ve only been here since yesterday,” she said. “But hey, that would be an option.”
Nearby, a woman named Kylie stopped to talk. She and her husband Donnie recently began calling Chicago their home, just in time for the holiday season, and Kylie said they’ve made a list of must-have experiences.
“The tree-lightings, the fireworks at Navy Pier, all the different Chicago rights of passage for, you know, Christmas and the holidays,” she said.
Far from wealthy, Kylie told WBBM that they usually stick to some of the city’s less expensive holiday activities, of which they do find many. As they’ve made their way around downtown, the couple said they have noticed many struggling migrant families.
“Every time I see them I think, ‘Can we find food somewhere; can we bring them a hot drink?’” Kylie said.
She said it’s not much, and she doesn’t feel off the hook, but they are doing what they can, including stopping in at their local police station.
“Since we moved, we had some clothes and things that we were able to donate, and I know they’re taking donations,” she said. “I just wish we could do more.”
Kylie mentioned her religious upbringing, which centered around a family traveling far from home and finding no room for shelter — other than a messy stable. Kylie said she feels many have forgotten the true meaning of the holiday season.
“There’s a lot of disconnect, I feel like, with what I feel we’re taught about how we should be in kindness,” she said.
While the State, City, churches and community organizations continue to work on long-term solutions, thousands of Chicagoans have already taken the matter into their own hands to help address immediate needs of newly arrived migrants. Some have sponsored migrant families, but many others have joined one of several social media groups designed to coordinate the resident response, including real-time needs for donations.
A Facebook group called Chi Welcome now has more than 3,000 active members. Another group, called Refugee Community Connection, which has over 13,000 members, seeks to help newly housed individuals with furniture, household items, utilities, and legal paperwork.
Since August 2022, the latest data from Chicago shows more than 28,500 migrants have arrived in the city. As of Dec. 11, 2023, hundreds of people are awaiting placement.
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