The state of Illinois is temporarily providing hotel rooms to house up to 200 asylum-seekers in Chicago.
About 30 hotel rooms were available Saturday night, with additional rooms available Sunday.
The announcement comes after the City of Chicago requested more resources given the latest increase in new arrivals from Texas. Illinois has seen thousands of asylum-seekers arrive since last year, with most people coming from Venezuela.
Illinois did not coordinate or receive advanced notice from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott as he sent “an unprecedented number” of asylum-seekers in recent days, according to a Sunday news release from the state.
“(The Illinois Department of Human Services) continues to welcome our new neighbors with support services and assistance with work-permit applications, which will ultimately hasten their journey to self-sufficiency,” said Dulce Quintero, a spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Human Services.
[ Migrants flown to Chicago from Texas on chartered flight, officials say ]
The city and state have been providing intermediate housing to migrants through shelters and hotels for months. Migrants are then able to apply for city- and state-funded rental assistance to move into more permanent housing.
Until recently, many migrants were sleeping on the city’s police station floors. The city faced mounting pressure to clear the stations as winter approached, moving new arrivals to city shelters.
Migrants receiving housing in the newly available hotel rooms will be moved to a former CVS in Little Village once construction of that shelter is completed in January, according to the state news release. The state said additional sites for shelters are being explored.
The hotel housing for migrants is funded through the $160 million the state earmarked in November to address the influx of asylum-seekers, according to the news release. That investment adds to the $478 million in state funding provided for the humanitarian crisis over fiscal years 2023 and 2024, which includes resources for shelter, food, medical care, rental assistance and support services.