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Chicagos migrant crisis is now affecting childrens programs in the park district.

CHICAGO - Chicago's migrant crisis is now affecting children's programs in the park district.

The Chicago Park District said it will be moving some spring programs so that it can house migrants in the Avondale neighborhood.

The Chicago Park District says the move will impact spring programming beginning at the location on North Elston.

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In a statement, the Chicago Park District said:

"In partnership with the City of Chicagos efforts to provide respite to asylum seekers, the Chicago Park District will temporarily relocate Spring programming from Brands Park to alternate locations. The District understands the importance of these programs to the families we serve and is committed to the continuity of these vital services. All registered participants have been notified of the temporary relocation and will be accommodated. The District will continue to communicate with families on how best to serve them."

Ald. Raymond Lopez says the city is also eyeing a location in the 15th Ward.

"There's a very wide net being cast all across the city of Chicago to look for anything large enough to house at least 200 to 250 individuals at any given time, and many of the old Chicago field houses fit the bill. One of which is in the 15th Ward, the Gage Park Field House and it has come to my attention that the city and the Lightfoot Administration is looking at that as a possible site to relocate some of the migrants," said Ald. Lopez.

One mom spoke will FOX 32 and said she is concerned with the move because she believes her son won't be able to move up on the waitlist to get into a summer program.

As of right now, the Chicago Park District hasn't made it clear whether summer programs will be impacted.

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Chicago Park District spring programs impacted in Avondale due to migrant housing - FOX 32 Chicago

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A group of activists and migrants marched for immigration reform through the rain in Chicago on Monday.

The protest came as more migrants are expected to arrive in Chicago from the Texas-Mexico border.

As CBS 2's Marissa Perlman reported Monday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Chicago is at a critical tipping point.

"We've been seeing, over the last week, 200-plus people coming to Chicago every single day," Mayor Lightfoot said.

And city leaders worry that number could grow to 400 to 600 a day.

The bottom line is that Mayor Lightfoot says there are no more resources and she called the move from Texas inhumane and dangerous.

"We are completely tapped out," Mayor Lightfoot said on CNN.

This came after the mayor sent a letter to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, urging him to stop sending migrants to Chicago ahead of yet another expected surge.

The city says more than 8,000 migrants have arrived in Chicago since August, when Abbott first began sending busloads from the border with little warning.

"We have no more space, no more resources and frankly, we're already in a surge," Lightfoot said.

On buses, on planes, and even on trains, the mayor says 200-plus asylum seekers are coming into the city every single day from Texas and other Republican-led states. Some have come with serious medical issues.

We have shown you photos of families and migrants awaiting shelter space assignments sleeping on the floors of Chicago Police station lobbies sometimes for up to 10 days.

City leaders add that migrants are being dropped off at processing centers around the city such as the Salvation Army Freedom Center in Humboldt Park. We are told the city spends $17 million a month on housing migrants.

"What's getting lost in what the governor is doing is these are human beings," Mayor Lightfoot said on CNN. "In any other emergency, you would be coordinating. You would be collaborating."

The mayor expects the situation to get worse when Title 42 expires next week. Title 42 gave Border Patrol agents the authority to send migrants back home because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mayor Lightfoot is calling for federal help specifically in the form of funding from the Federal Emergency Management Administration. She says the city has not seen a dime of such help this year.

The mayor is also calling for work permits for those coming into the city.

At a news conference, Gov. JB Pritzker says the mayor's letter likely will not stop this next surge.

"Is a letter going to say his mind?" Pritzker said of Texas' Gov. Abbott. "Probably not."

But Gov. Pritzker concurred with Mayor Lightfoot about the lack of resources for migrants.

"Our resources are stretched," said Gov. Pritzker. "We've gone to the federal government. I've gone directly to the president."

CBS 2 asked Gov. Pritzker at a news conference Monday what the state's plan is - as the number of migrants coming to his state is only expected to grow, and fast.

"We've already provided $150 million of state dollars and services to serve those asylum seekers," Pritzker said. "We're talking about shelter. We're talking about food. We're talking about health care."

Pritzker said the primary responsibility for the migrants lies with the city.

"The city is the primary recipient here, and we have worked together with the city but it is based on a city operation. We are supporters of the city. The state can't really decide where we're going to tell people to go in the city," Pritzker said, "and I know that they've been working hard to provide shelter; to make sure that they're doing everything they can and it hasn't been enough."

He also called the Texas' governor's plan with regard to the migrants "inhumane."

The governor says there is new money that could be flowing into the state from the federal government this week or next. He did not specify whether that would be in the form of FEMA funding.

See the rest here:
Mayor, governor warn of critical tipping point in migrant crisis - CBS Chicago

'No camping rule' goes into effect as hundreds of migrants remain on streets of El Paso

Migrants outside of Sacred Heart Church in south-central El Paso on May 1, 2023. (KFOX14/CBS4)

Mayor Oscar Leeser's state of emergency declaration for the city of El Paso went into effect Monday in response to the large flow of migrants crossing the U.S-Mexico border.

At a press conference on Sunday, city officials said they will begin enforcing a no camping ordinance to address the large amount of migrant sleeping on the streets of El Paso.

Despite that statement from officials, hundreds of migrants were seen Monday morning around the perimeter of the Sacred Heart Church in south-central El Paso.

Around lunch time, less migrants were seen outside the front of the church.

There has been an increased law enforcement presence in the area.

Officers with the El Paso Police Department, U.S Customs and Border Patrol and Texas Department of Public Safety have been spotted patrolling the area throughout the morning and early afternoon.

The city's Environmental Services staff was also seen in the area.

Ariana Parra reports on emergency declaration for migrant situation in El Paso goes into effect

RECOMMENDED:El Paso mayor issues 'state of emergency' in response to large flow of migrants

City officials on Sunday said they would be opening shelters as needed.

However, migrants must have processing paperwork to be accepted into a city-run shelter.

There will also be 24-hour security provided for the safety of both migrants and the public.

The large flow of migrants comes as a result of the expected end of Title 42 policy on May 11.

El Paso County Commissioners are scheduled to meet Monday morning at 9:30 a.m. to discuss what response the county will have to the migration surges.

Count on KFOX14 to continue proving coverage on the ongoing migrant crisis.

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'No camping rule' goes into effect as hundreds of migrants remain on streets of El Paso - KFOX El Paso

Sir, Mdecins Sans Frontires Ireland welcomes the Government statement during Tuesdays Dil debate on the motion to deploy an Irish naval asset to the Mediterranean as part of Operation Irini that at no point in the deployment will the mission involve the training of the Libyan Coast Guard.

It is important this assurance is followed through on, both for Irelands standing on human rights and to signal to other European countries who are playing a role in Irini the significant humanitarian concerns relating to the Libyan Coast Guard.

Mdecins Sans Frontires/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is concerned that any capacity building and training of the Libyan Coast Guard as part of Operation Irini will ultimately lead to the return of migrants to Libya in breach of the non-refoulement principle (the guarantee that no one should be forcedly returned to where they would face torture or other cruel and degrading treatment).

Through our search and rescue operations at sea and our provision of medical assistance in Libya, MSF teams have witnessed first-hand the detrimental effects of the system of interceptions and returns of migrants to Libya and the shocking treatment of migrants and flagrant breaches of their human rights.

The recently published report of the UN Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Libya supports our direct experience that migrants, many of whom are forcibly returned to Libya by the Libyan Coast Guard, face grave human rights abuses. It notes overwhelming evidence that migrants have been systematically tortured and found reasonable grounds to believe that migrants across Libya are victims of crimes against humanity.

Irelands previous naval deployments to the Mediterranean played a vital role in saving many lives at sea. We now need a proactive state-led mechanism to coordinate dedicated search and rescue activities to assist refugees and migrants in the Central Mediterranean, where over 20,000 people have died or gone missing since 2014. Yours, etc,

ISABEL SIMPSON,

Executive Director,

Mdecins Sans

Frontires Ireland,

Dublin 4.

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Migrant crisis in the Mediterranean The Irish Times - The Irish Times

We are already in week two of the deadly fighting between Sudans military and the paramilitary organization known as Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the chaotic evacuation of Western citizens proves an end to the conflict is nowhere in sight.

The possibility of the battle escalating into a full-blown humanitarian crisis is growing by the hour. Sudan already accommodates some of the biggest refugee populations in Africa and the current instability could be a catalyst for a refugee crisis of unparalleled magnitude.

Already the current strife is expected to inflame tensions in the Horn of Africa. Countries like Chad, Ethiopia, and Libya, which are already grappling with internal conflicts, will be among the first to feel the impact before it reaches Europe and beyond.

But the West is not prepared. In fact, its decisions have led to this problem.

Back in 2014, the European Union (EU) entered into a contentious agreement with Horn of African nations to finance local initiatives aimed at regulating the influx of migrants from the sub-Saharan Desert into Europe. However, the Khartoum Process also funds groups notorious for human rights atrocities, including Sudans RSF.

In 2019, after the RSF killed more than 120 demonstrators at an anti-government protest, the EU halted its financial aid to Sudan. But it still provides support to countries like Libya, where migrants are subjected to brutal mistreatment.

With the Wests migrant strategies in the African region and at home failing, its clear it must rethink how it can prepare Africa and itself. After all, its only going to get worse. In the next 30 years, the climate crisis, of which Africa and the wider Global South have little responsibility for, will lead to 1.2 billion climate refugees.

While the conflict in Sudan is a showdown over Sudans long-anticipated transition to civilian governance, the reality is there is also a global surge in civil wars. However, these conflicts cannot be attributed solely to political volatility. Rather, the escalation of violence is also a consequence of climate-induced economic uncertainty, which the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) discovered has led to almost half of internal clashes globally over the last six decades, including Sudan.

Click to expand

During the early 2000s, the RSF, known at the time as Janjaweed militias, were accused of perpetrating a genocide campaign in Darfur, Western Sudan which resulted in the deaths of approximately 500,000 civilians. The United Nations later declared this conflict was the first-ever to be directly influenced by climate change and resource shortages, cautioning climate wars would become the new norm.

Rather than ignoring what is happening in Africa as shown by the absence of EU leaders at a recent African climate summit the West must redirect its attention to the development and protection of African nations. Besides revisiting outdated and harmful migration policies, it is imperative we forge stronger connections with non-governmental organizations and civil society figures who can provide viable alternatives to volatile and fragile political systems.

For instance, climate interfaith NGO Faith For Our Planet (FFOP), which was established by Dr. Mohammed Al-Issa, the Secretary General of the Islamic NGO Muslim World League (MWL), brings together civil society leaders to find solutions to climate change in the Global South. Earlier this year, FFOP organized the Faith and Climate Forum in The Gambia, where they educated African civil society leaders on climate action and trained them to engage with their communities on the issue, effectively surpassing political influence.

It is urgent that we implement climate and refugee mitigation strategies in Africa and other parts of the Global South, not only through grassroots initiatives but also through larger international efforts. We must follow through on promises regarding the Loss and Damage Fund, while also prioritizing climate security, conflict prevention, and peacebuilding at upcoming COP and UN conferences.

Because without immediate action, Africa will be the epicentre of a multitude of intersecting crises, all of which will inevitably impact the wider world.

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Sudan conflict will trigger unprecedented refugee crisis and West is not prepared - Toronto Star