How the U.S. Drove Venezuelans North

[Judi Lynn]

A relentless history of U.S. imperialism and anti-socialism brought thousands of migrants to the floors of Chicago police stations.

LILIAN JIMENEZ OCTOBER 19, 2023



A migrant father from Venezuela feeds his 15-month-old son in the lobby of a police station where their family has been staying since their arrival to Chicago on May 9, 2023.
PHOTO BY SCOTT OLSON/GETTY IMAGES

This is part one of a two-part interview.

In the last week of August 2022, as head of the Illinois Welcoming Centers and State Refugee Coordinator, I went to meet a bus of migrants that had been sent to Chicago from Texas. They arrived with no familial connections and nowhere to go. They would be the first of thousands.

The federal government decided to stay on the sidelines, so the community and aid organizations that have long served the Latine community and displaced refugees and asylum seekers met the moment. Partnering with the city and state, those groups provided food, hotel rooms, shelter, case management, legal services, housing and rental assistance.

The buses slowed that winter, and at the end of 2022, the state shifted to focus on resettlement and the city stepped up. But when Title 42 was lifted this May, the buses started coming faster again. Two-thirds of the more than 340 buses have arrived since May 12. In total, the city estimates that Chicago has seen almost 20,000 new arrivals since August 2022. Most are from Central and South America, and many are from Venezuela or have some connection to Venezuela.

Right now more than 3,000 are sleeping on the floors of police stations; others are at overflowing shelters. Their presence has provoked both an outpouring of mutual aid and also an outcry over the use of city resources in a city that has long shortchanged poor and Black and Latine communities. The city’s plans to shelter the migrants in winter have been controversial and remain up in the air.

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A migrant family from Venezuela arrives with their belongings at a police station in Chicago on May 9.
PHOTO BY SCOTT OLSON/GETTY IMAGES

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