On Thursday, one hundred refugees arrived in Woodlawn to take up residence in what had been the Wadsworth Elementary School. This comes as a result of people of the community expressing their disapproval.
The individuals hailing from Venezuela came on a CTA bus while transporting bicycles, laundry baskets, and suitcases. According to the city, they were moved from other facilities because of capacity restrictions at those other locations.
Attempt to block a Bus carrying Migrants
On Thursday, while the city tried to move over one hundred individuals into a disused elementary school in Woodlawn, a candidate for the South Side City Council attempted to block a bus that was carrying migrants.
One hundred adult males and females moved into the former Wadsworth Elementary School, which is located at 6420 South University Avenue in Woodlawn. They are the first of hundreds of people, the most of them are persons looking for asylum as well as other migrants, who will move into the shelter beginning this week.
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No enough room
Cesar Rodriguez, a representative for Lightfoot, said in a statement on Thursday that 100 people, including men and women, moved into Wadsworth today. These people had to be transferred from other facilities because there was not enough room at the original location.
Despite repeated denials from Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office and a complicated rollout process, which resulted in an apology from the city’s family and support services commissioner, the administration of Mayor Lori Lightfoot has been planning for months to lodge migrants in the old school building.
Wadsworth to be utilizes as a refuge
Wadsworth is going to be utilised by the city as a refuge for a period of up to two years. Beginning with the new arrivals this week, there will be as many as 250 single men and women moving in. The maximum number of persons who will be allowed to take refuge there has not yet been set by the authorities.
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Neighbors are dissatisfied, Try to block Migrants
Neighbors have voiced their dissatisfaction with the city for failing to keep them informed and for only providing information after the “deal” had been finalised. They are also opposed to the decision that the city has made to convert a defunct school into a homeless shelter after allowing the building to lay empty for a number of years.
Andre Smith, who is running for the position of 20th Ward alderperson for the fourth time, and Luis Cardona, a resident of Woodlawn, made an effort on Thursday morning to prevent the first two buses from dropping off migrants at the shelter. Cardona has expressed her opposition to the idea of reopening the school as a shelter on multiple occasions.
Nothing personal for Migrants
Smith explained that he and Luis had been standing in front of the bus earlier in the day. “They wanted to arrest us, and we responded by saying that it’s fine with us—we’ll go to jail.” They wanted to talk to me and figure something out, and the Mayor’s Office arrived, the superintendent sent his guy, and the commander was here.
“I assured them that there was nothing personal against them. The city officials did not come to us in the past to try to work things out, and we are not currently attempting to work anything out. “I’m not going anywhere,” Smith declared.
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Why they didn’t stopped the 3rd bus then…
Cardona, Smith, and a third person wearing a Chicago Against Violence jacket — the name of Smith’s community organisation — entered the intersection of 64th Street and University Avenue as a third bus arrived on Thursday afternoon. They spoke with police officers but did not obstruct the migrants’ arrival. Cardona, Smith, and the third person did not interfere with the migrants’ arrival.
When asked why protesters did not attempt to halt the arrival of the third bus, Smith responded that they did not want to trespass into private property and risk being arrested. He swore that he would continue to interfere with buses that unloaded migrants onto public streets.
New shelter delayed
However, according to the Department of Family and Support Services, the city is still seeing an average of ten new arrivals each day despite the fact that officials declared in January that the shelters were full to capacity. The opening of the shelter was supposed to take place a month ago, but it was postponed because of opposition from residents of Woodlawn.
Rules to be follow by Migrants
The city will provide 24-hour protection for the facility’s entrances, and the Chicago Police Department is putting into action a community safety strategy that calls for frequent visits to the shelter.
Upon moving into the shelter, residents will be given a copy of the guidelines and expectations, which they will then sign, according to the city. Rules include signing in and out each time you enter or leave the shelter, adhering to a curfew of 11 p.m., not admitting visitors, and abstaining from drug and alcohol use on the premises.
