The Windy City currently has 11,000 illegal migrants in shelters and a further 4,000 still sleeping on police station floors or staying at airports.
Chicago’s illegal immigrants are now eligible to receive up to $9,000 in rental assistance under a new state-run program, which includes money to help furnish their new living quarters as the homeless population of Americans living on the city’s streets continues to soar.
Deputy chief of staff Cristina Pacione-Zayas said that taxpayers should expect to be on the hook for housing and furnishing the city’s illegal population for at least half a year and that the amount handed over varies by circumstances.
“That rent lasts for six months and ideally people would have started their legal process, secured legal work authorization and be able to sustain that apartment. And so the cost, or I guess the payment toward the landlord is based on market rate, it’s based on the configuration of the parament—how many rooms, where it’s located—all those things. And so it varies from place to place,” Mr. Pacione-Zayas told Fox 32.
The state of Illinois has contributed $38 million to the program, while the city has allocated $4 million, according to officials. The plan includes funding for both rented apartments and homes for illegal immigrants and includes assistance for both moving in and money to help set-up the new apartments, according to the report.
The new program is on top of additional funding that has already been set aside to help illegal immigrants. In May, the Chicago City Council announced that $51 million in financial aid from the budget would go toward addressing the flood of immigrants.
Chicago is enduring a mass influx of illegal immigrants. Last week 41 new buses of illegal immigrants arrived in Chicago, bringing the total number of migrants in shelters to 11,000, with 4,000 still sleeping on police station floors and staying at airports.
Meanwhile, residents who see their fellow Chicagoans still living on the streets are outraged over what they consider a “criminal” misdirection of funds.
