Updated 10-10-23

As ICIRR works to coordinate immediate and short-term care for the migrants arriving from the southern border, we are focusing our advocacy efforts on demands that should help facilitate the longer-term success of the migrants in their new home and ultimately build a system of care for everyone. The Department of Homeland Security’s redesignation of Venezuelan nationals for Temporary Protected Status is a major step to enabling many new arrivals to work, find longer-term housing, and become self-sufficient. That said, all levels of government will need to work together to ensure that migrants are able to apply for and receive TPS and work permits, and are able to meet their needs for shelter and other support while going through the application process. In that spirit, ICIRR demands the following:

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Federal: Expedite and Streamline TPS Process Nationally

• (USCIS) Redeploy staff and facilities to expedite processing of TPS applications and employment authorization applications based on TPS and parole granted to migrant arrivals.

• (USCIS) Expedite processing of applications for fee waivers for TPS and work permit applications (as USCIS does with naturalization and other applications).

• (Congress) Pass legislation to update the registry date so that long-term immigrants can receive lawful immigration status and work authorization.

• (Congress) Increase investments in the federal budget in the Shelter and Services Program to support local efforts to provide care for migrant arrivals, and in other programs that lift all people out of poverty and reverse the disinvestments that immigrants and other communities have historically faced. 

• (White House) Use executive authority to provide as much relief for as many people as possible–understanding that such measures are not a substitute for legalization for all.

State: Support Eligible TPS Applicants and Others in Illinois 

• Provide financial assistance to enable migrants to cover filing fees for TPS and work permit applications (which currently total as much as $545).

• Provide additional support for legal service providers who assist immigrants with TPS applications (including fee waivers).

• Provide $40 million to fund immigrant services for FY 2024.

• Extend to one year (or longer) the eligibility period for state-funded rental assistance so that unhoused individuals, and specifically TPS applicants with pending applications, will be better able to afford permanent housing.

• Ensure that the Illinois State Board of Education protects the educational rights of students that are new arrivals by working with school districts statewide to immediately enroll those students and to identify them as experiencing homelessness.

• Work with ICIRR and its members to develop a more collaborative plan with other municipalities, nonprofit organizations, and other institutions outside Chicago (for example, Cook County) to share the responsibility of providing case management, sustainable housing, employment referrals, workforce development potential apprenticeship programs with trade unions, education, and other support to new arrivals. 

 

City: Transition Unhoused Chicago Population into Permanent Housing and Support Eligible TPS Applicants in Chicago 

• Provide financial assistance to enable migrants to cover filing fees for applications for TPS and work permit (which currently total as much as $545).

• Provide additional support for legal service providers who assist immigrants with TPS applications (including fee waivers).

• Base any temporary housing solution on dignified indoor sheltering with an explicit plan to quickly transition residents and families to permanent housing. As a response to combating the immediate needs of the City’s unhoused residents, the city should avoid the use of outdoor shelter structures and instead dedicate resources toward brick-and-mortar buildings that provide shelter to a smaller number of residents as opposed to large areas with many people sharing space.   

• Coordinate with other levels of government (i.e. Cook County and other municipalities) and nonprofit organizations to move arriving migrants expeditiously to permanent housing. 

• Build up long term solutions and revenue that make affordable housing accessible to all.

• Ensure that the Students in Temporary Living Situations (STLS) program and other relevant departments within the Chicago Public Schools are involved in planning for any initiatives that impact students who are new arrivals and that they work to protect the educational rights of those students.

• Reject any effort to diminish the protections extended by the Chicago Welcoming City Ordinance.

• Work with ICIRR and its members to develop a more collaborative plan with the State of Illinois to ensure that the State and other municipalities (for example, Cook County) are alleviating the pressure on the City to provide sustainable housing and other support to new arrivals. 

• Engage in a strategic conversation with ICIRR, its partners and other directly impacted communities about the upcoming budget proposal to explore collaborations around a comprehensive approach to invest in the needs of both long-term residents and new arrivals within the City of Chicago.