Chicago , a self-proclaimed sanctuary city, has signed a contract worth $29.4 million with the private security company GardaWorld Federal Services to build a winter camp to shelter immigrants .
This camp will have huge tents that will house between 250 and 1,400 immigrants .
It is unknown when construction will begin and when it will be completed, although authorities want to have it ready before winter begins . "It’s got to be done pretty quickly if it’s gonna get done before the weather breaks," Ronnie Reese, press secretary for the Chicago City Council, told the Chicago Sun-Times.
The tents will have a yurt- type structure - a round surface with a cusp-shaped roof - and about 12 cots will fit in each of them. In addition, the camp will have portable toilets, kitchens - three meals a day will be provided -, day care, laundry, security guards and immigrants will have transportation to hospitals and health centers.
As reported by the Associated Press, the goal of the contract is "to allow the city to purchase temporary housing solutions and related services from the state... to provide critical services to asylum seekers ."
Illegal immigration is wreaking havoc on Chicago's economy. The budget forecasts for 2024 indicate that the city will have a deficit of about 538 million dollars due, among other reasons, to the cost of caring for the new illegal immigrants who arrive in the city, as Brandon Johnson, the city's mayor, announced in mid-September.
Johnson declared that the city's financial situation is "legacy" (referring to the management of former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, also a Democrat) and acknowledged that "the projected budget gap paints a realistic picture of our city's financial situation."
