Winter begins and in Chicago, United States, the layers of snow begin to surprise the immigrants sleeping in tents on the streets, in police zones, of the so-called Windy City.

Migrants spend their first nights below freezing, Telemundo Chicago reported on Tuesday, October 31, 2023.

Iris Berríos, a communicator for the network, said in her report that many of the tents were still covered in snow during the day, worsening the situation for those sleeping in tents located inside Chicago police stations.

They woke up to temperatures below 30 degrees, he described. “The cold is already unbearable, the children are crying all night,” said Anderson Moctezuma, a young migrant who tried his best not to shiver despite feeling hot.

According to Telemundo Chicago, there are currently 2,846 immigrants sleeping in police stations.

Help for migrants in the cold environment of Chicago

“We are having a hard time in those tents, it is too cold,” complained Andrés Rivas. He asked that they be taken out of there and sent to a shelter, “to something safer, because that’s where we’re all going to get sick… there’s a lot of flu, a lot of colds.”

To help them at the start of the winter season, the Chicago government sent heated buses to police stations in 16 counties. These bus units belong to the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA).

Telemundo Chicago emphasized that many of the immigrants housed in these tents are from Venezuela. “They are not used to low temperatures and do not have the right clothes or shoes,” says Berríos.

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“When you sleep in tents in the open air, the cold hits more at dawn,” said Daniel Fernández, who explained how he spends the night: “I sleep with everything and clothes.”

Chicago authorities and nonprofits are trying to collect clothing and winter items for migrants.

What has not been disclosed is the date on which they plan to take these people to a shelter.

Journalist Berríos stressed that the heating buses will arrive at night, for the benefit of the immigrant population, around 8 p.m. and will remain at the police stations until 8 a.m.

(JO)