What Do You Know About the Migrant Shelters Around Chicago?
Thousands of children remain detained by Customs and Border Protection and ICE, and horrific stories of abuse and neglect continue to erupt from the centers these young migrants have been forced to call home. For more than 20 years, Chicago has been the temporary home to many children who have been detained after entering the U.S. Some of them have either crossed the border alone or, most recently, were taken and separated from their parents under the Trump Administration immigration policies. Some of the displaced children are taken to the shelter facilities licensed by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. The majority of the centers are run by a large nonprofit under the name Heartland Human Care Services, which oversees the program in and around Chicago. It is an umbrella service of The Heartland Alliance.
- In April, more than 40 children tested positive for COVID-19 after an outbreak occurred at a Heartland facility on Chicago’s South Side. It was considered one of the most significant outbreaks of the virus in any shelter for immigrant youth in the country.