Background Research

History of Chicago Migration

Chicago was declared a "Sanctuary City" through an executive order declared by Mayor Washington in 1985. This declaration prohibits city employees from enforcing federal immigration laws. Other sancturary states include California, Colorado, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Oregon, and Vermont, though their migrant populations vary.
Welcoming City Ordinance was passed in 2012 and protects the rights of immigrants, granting Chicago residents access to all city services, regardless of their immigration status.
- - "Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and the City Colleges of Chicago (CCC) have also taken extra steps recently to ensure that students have a safe and welcoming learning environment to thrive in, and have reminded staff and students of resources available to them post-election. Parents and families with a child in CPS are encouraged to reach out to their child’s principal or teacher with any concerns or questions they may have." (https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/mayor/supp_info/office-of-new-americans/welcoming-city-supportive-resources.html)

Over 23,000 asylum seekers have come to Chicago since 2022, creating a local humanitarian crisis for the city. Chicago officials have compared ther crisis response to "build[ing] a plane while flying it" and are proactively finding solutions (https://40thward.org/cirr/).

Home Country Distribution

The largest distribution of immigration into Chicago currently comes from Venezuela, followed by Colombia, Haiti, and Ecuador. Surprisingly, 20.2% of immigrants come from "Unknown" countries, indicating the broad scope of home countries and the discrepancies in information gathering and reporting.

Data found at https://40thward.org/cirr/, gathered November 2023.

Migrant Placement

Migrants, once they arrive in Chicago, are placed in temporary locations, police districts, airports, hotels, shelters, and later homes. This map, made by the CIRR, offers updates on where migrants are currently being placed and offers insight into the home lives of those just arriving in Chicago.

Next Steps:

Chicago signed a "$29 million contract with Virginia-based GardaWorld Federal Services and its subsidiary Aegis Defense Services" on September 12, 2023 to provide housing zones that will house anywhere from 200 to 1,400 migrants seeking shelter. Beyond providing restrooms, showers, and washing facilities, these yurt-like structures and tents will be homes for the buses of migrants coming into the city each week. Chicagoans and others have mixed opinions regarding the safety and reliabily of this housing as a long term solution. (https://blockclubchicago.org/2023/09/20/chicago-signs-29-million-contract-to-build-tent-city-base-camps-for-migrants/)

Understanding Demographics and Disadvantages

Immigrant-origin children are the fastest-growing population of public schools in the US, with over a quarter (26.3%) of children under 18 in the United States living with at least one foreign-born parent (Census Report).

Immigrant youth being introduced to new schools have to balance learning English and complex academic subjects.

They can experience higher pressures to acquire academic English proficiency with the use of high-stakes standardized tests that are not optimized for non-native speakers.
The average immigration journey from a home country in Lain and South American to a city in the United States is 4 years. In this time, few children are able to conduct lessons, much less be enrolled in a school full time, and their education is interupted. Therefore, migrant students can be wholly unfamiliar with homework assignments in the school context, and are further exacerbated by challenges associated with being of lower socioeconomic status, including (study by University of Chicago)
- - access to a quiet study space
  - additional jobs, childcare, or chores
  - limited access to educational resources outside the school day
If children have done poorly in school in previous years, they may also prioritize non-academic endeavors, such as a paid job, that can bring them self-esteem as well as financial compensation.
Migrant students often have fewer at-home resources to aid their academic understanding as recently immigrated parents can have limited English skills and educational backgrounds.
A large achievement gap exists between English Language Learner students and the national average, ESL falling behind 22% in graduation rates of 67% compared to the national average of 88%.

The below graph from McKinsey, gathered in 2019, demonstrates the monetary cost of the achievement gap and its impact on GDP each year, tracing back to 2009. COVID-19 exacerbated this achievement gap, especially because migrant students had less access to at-home technology, had heightened worries about privacy and safety for digitalized in-home learning, and less parental supervision during classes and work.

Recent Updates

The information site for the Chicago Committee on Immigrant and Refuge Rights provides current information regarding: