With climate change coming, Chicago's current migrant influx 'only going to be the beginning'

The experts implored aldermen to build migrant support systems that will be ready for future influxes and to partner with climate-vulnerable Latin American and Caribbean countries to help them better handle future crises themselves.

Vasquez argued the city needs to combine its shelter systems for both people who are experiencing homelessness and for migrants to prepare for what is ahead. It’s an idea homelessness advocates have long championed and one Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration has announced his administration is working toward.

“Unless we see some worldwide change in our behavior, this seems like it’s only going to go in one direction,” he said, noting services are lacking for migrants and those experiencing homelessness. “Whether you’re a migrant that just got here or have been here for decades and were born here, the services and resources are not adequate.”

The committee also discussed another crisis in South America that could spark more migration to the United States and Chicago. Amid instability and violence in Ecuador, the federal government should grant Ecuadorians coming to the U.S. temporary protected status, a designation that allows refugees to pursue work in the U.S. once approved.

The request was backed by Ecuadorian community organizations and the country’s local consul general.

“Just as with the Ecuadorian community, there are many people throughout Latin America that are fleeing violence, that are fleeing global change and oftentimes our foreign policies,” said Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez, 25th, who was raised in Ecuador.

Aldermen also called on the Chicago Police Department to better process visas for immigrants who are victims of crime. The department needs to explain why it struggles to process the so-called “U” visas that help victims come forward to address crime even when they do not have legal status, sponsor Alderman Raymond Lopez, 15th, said.

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