Around Rogers Park - Migrants Continue to Come to Rogers Park
- Details
- Category: Latest News
As has been widely reported, the migration crisis at the US-Mexico border is no longer confined to the southern tier of states. Beginning last year and continuing into 2023, bus-loads of asylum-seekers and other migrants have been arriving in Chicago in search of better lives and a safe haven from the poverty and violence endemic to the countries from which they flee.
Some of these migrants were sent to Chicago, and other blue cities in the North, by the governors of Texas and Florida. Others have found their own ways to the city. Some may have friends and relatives who are already here. Others may simply look at the city as a beacon of opportunity and a good place to seek a fresh start and a new life.
Not surprisingly, many of these migrants have ended up in Rogers Park. The neighborhood remains a port of entry for new arrivals and is, once again, proving attractive to new arrivals. However, the surge of new migrants in a short period of time is putting a strain on housing and other resources as the neighborhood, the city and the state all struggle to accommodate the inflow of people.
Many of these migrants started their journeys in Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti and El Salvador – all countries in various states of economic and political turmoil where life has become increasingly difficult and often dangerous.
These migrants’ reception in the US has been complicated by the stalemate in Washington between Democrats and Republicans who cannot agree on what should be done to alleviate the strain of too many arrivals in too little time. Even in Chicago, a sanctuary city with a long tradition of supporting immigrants and refugees, the strain accommodating these new arrivals is taking a toll on city budgets and available resources.
The flow of people from the southern border appears likely to continue for the foreseeable future. Rogers Park is one of the neighborhoods that has been most impacted by this trend as its shelters and resettlement resources are stretched to the breaking point. These challenges are likely to get worse before they get better.
