Help Support Asylum Seekers 📢
Dear Neighbor,
I'm reaching out today to share an update on a growing humanitarian crisis in our city. As you may know, Texas Governor Gregg Abbott has continued to inhumanely bus asylum seekers and migrants to cities throughout the US, including Chicago.
More than 8,000 migrants have already arrived in Chicago since August of last year. Mayor Lightfoot has urged Governor Abbott to stop this practice, but we anticipate that the volume of migrant arrivals will continue to grow with the expiration of Title 42 on May 11th.
The City has struggled in the face of this ongoing crisis, and we know that countless individuals have taken it upon themselves to help connect migrants with food, showers, and medical care.
It's humbling to see our community embrace asylum seekers, but we know this is not a sustainable solution. What's needed is a coordinated response from the city, state and federal government.
I'm committed to working with elected officials at all levels to ensure migrants have a safe place to stay with adequate living conditions while they await permanent housing. I also commit to working with our city and federal leaders to secure long-term funding to support migrants as they build a new life here in Chicago.
In the meantime, our office has partnered with mutual aid efforts across the Northwest Side to help meet migrants' immediate needs. Below you can find list of items that are needed to support migrants as they await permanent housing:
Donations of supplies can be dropped off at our District Office, located at 3458 N. Cicero Ave, Monday to Friday from 10am to 4pm.
We are also calling for volunteers who are available to help check in on migrants and transport donations to different police district stations. If you're interested in helping with these efforts, or have ideas on other ways you can offer support, please reply to this email with your name, phone number, address, and how you'd like to help.
As the City continues to develop its response to this crisis, our office will be in touch with updates and additional ways to support recently arrived migrants.
Thanks for your support. Together, I know we can provide a better and kinder welcome to these new arrivals to our city — the kind of welcome America should extend to everyone.
Will Guzzardi