In this case, they don’t pay taxes because we don’t allow them to - they can seek asylum and wait for job permits to come with granted status. I frequently hear this “we should at least be able to take care of our own” argument a lot, but who is the "we" you're referring to if not us?

Have you volunteered somewhere that provides aid and resources to “our own”? Are you involved in your neighborhood groups, or connected to your local community organizations? Have you been involved in any resources that use our limited resources to help our own? Or know what they even are?

I really hope so, otherwise, you'll have to tell me how you can say something like that without feeling embarrassed.

We can talk about that all day - but last night, children and babies slept outside of the 20th district station because there was no room/bedding/blankets for them. I'd rather focus on this than what governments do or don't - I am not happy about our leadership, but the work needs to get done and I'm available.

Your local alderman's office will totally take them but if you reach out to us through one of the contact forms - we'll make sure that someone coordinates with you. Sorry for your loss as well, but we genuinely appreciate the items.

Oh, I have no doubts about it. But to board folks who've just crossed a border on a bus, telling them that in Chicago they'll get housing and food and jobs, and having them sign away liability - that takes a special kind of shitty.

For what it's worth - I personally do think that northern states should take on some of the burden that the border states are experiencing. I think we should spread things out a bit and work in unison as a whole country, not as separate parties and individual politicians with agendas. "Uncouth" is the kind description of using people as pawns. But ultimately, we should all be working together. It's shouldn't be Me vs You - its Us vs The Problem.

They're not allowed to work at the moment, not until they get work permits which could take up to a year. They risk asylum status if they go outside the rules.

The "risk of exposure to disease" at one of these places is the same risk of disease we have at an airport, a music festival, or Taste of Chicago. I'm not inclined to 'other' these people by suggesting they're more diseased or more risky than any place else.

And yes, people can extrapolate - it's a crowded situation, involving migrants, who walked through hell to get here. But they're not carrying ebola or typhoid. They have the shit we have - chicken pox, covid, the flu, asthma, diabetes, lice, high blood pressure. They're about as diseased as a preschool on the first day of classes.

People are in fact smart enough to make their own decisions based on the information provided.

Well. These folks are fleeing famine, war, corruption, and profound scarcity from some of the poorest countries in South America. So, the simple answer is - No. The migrants do not know how to code. I know you meant well with that question, but I will tell you now that the last thing they need (or have any use for) is résumé help.

They need to be clothed, fed, and given a place to rest. They want to know that their children are safe and that they don't have to live in terror of being sent back or driven into something worse. They need people in this new place to care about them and treat them with compassion and a modicum of humanity.

So, again, while I know you meant well with this question and offer - the better use of your skills and resources would be to volunteer some time, or organize a clothing drive at your workplace, buy and donate a whole lot of clothes and shoes, offer translation services if you speak Spanish. That sort of thing.

Sending them isn't immoral - telling them that if they go north that they'll be given homes and jobs and immediate asylum, is.

At this point what people need are coats and layers. They're taking what they can get as they become more aware of what exactly "Chicago gets cold" means.

What exists is what exists, unfortunately. Since it's all volunteers and set up by whoever was able to - the tools are varied and meant to work for the most people. With that said, if you get in touch or sign up - we can make sure to get you involved in the way that works for you.

There are talks of all sorts, but the red tape and bureaucracy are terrible. Unfortunately, we're dealing with this all while a very green mayor is still getting his bearings. Last I heard, they've opened Terminal 4 at O'Hare and one at Midway to be respite shelters. We need SO MUCH SPACE. It's crazy.

Be that as it may - they're bleeding right now. They need bandaids. I'm not keen on letting folks bleed while we sit around hoping for change.

I hope you're motivated to start organizing against the government - it's a thing that might help, as long as you actually do it.

Do you fix the many ills of your own country or do you rely on leaders of a place to do so? Maybe telling a starving pregnant woman to go back to her country and fix their economy isn't the answer.

It's not illegal per se - but it's definitely immoral and handled with a kind of inhumane cruelty that I won't ever understand. But at the end of the day, we are a sanctuary city and have committed to that civic deed. In the ideal scenario, all of these governors would be working together and as a team regardless of their politics.

Well right now I and other like-minded neighbors are paying for meals, clothing, bedding, essentials, etc etc. We have people here right now, who need our help. I'm able to help. My post was to appeal to others who are also able to help. I'm good with paying for it with what I'm able to offer. Maybe you have something useful to offer as well.

https://forms.gle/Pm7GhYVBzMczkgZUA

Let me know if that works and thank you!

Back then we had very little support or anything set up to vet and coordinate volunteers. We in the 20th have set up time to call and sort potential volunteers, but not every place has that manpower unfortunately :(

If you have the skills to be a tech lead it would be insanely helpful. That's the role I've largely taken on in the 20th and it's been crucial. Please reach out to the leads in the 1st district and coordinate with the existing effort; I'll be happy to share what's been working for us as well!

Absolutely. My first day there were 40 people and I was gobsmacked; you'd think that they couldn't POSSIBLY fit more people in that space. But with dozens of busses coming in each week, we're past the tipping point.

Do you believe these are people who casually thought, "You know, America sounds nice?" and they pack up their luggage and snacks and head out? Personal situation? Is that what we're calling economic collapse? In a 4 year period, their economy shrunk by two-thirds due to embargos from the US and due to their shitty government. What personal responsibility is a person supposed to take?

Stability is the romantic view they're taking. The hope of jobs, safety, food, and a future for their children. You can't do that in a place where the government is run by an ineffective leader, you can't do that when there are zero jobs and no way for the country to combat hyperinflation.

What would you do? Pull yourself up by your bootstraps, march to Washington, and ask what you can do to help? Do you think it's easy for a parent to make their child go through such a risky journey? "Dragged". Get real man.

I've added a wishlist to the original post. Thank you for any contribution you can make - it means a lot.

Yeah? Did you spring up out of the earth or fall from the sky? Because I'm pretty sure that everyone here came from somewhere else. And I know, "blah blah blah, my great grandfather came here from X, or a boat, with carpentry skills" - good for him, these people have skills and value and want something better just like the rest of us. They are exactly where they deserve to get to.

Absolutely - transportation and folks with cars are a crucial need. It's also worth noting that these migrants don't have money, they aren't allowed to work when they're here. If they need to go to the hospital, we hope a volunteer is available to take them; if they have a cousin in Wisconsin and need a bus ticket, we buy it and take them to the greyhound station. Frankly, the CTA will be of little use for what these folks need.

I don't have a specific person for you, but if you sign up through the general volunteer form (or the 20th district form) - one of our volunteer coordinators will reach out and put you where you can be of most assistance. Thank you for any help you can offer.

We are indeed, the Latino Treatment Center in the 20th district will take and distribute them, but I can find you a closer drop point for your own neighbourhood if you send me a DM.

You're wrong, but what point are you trying to make? That folks shouldn't volunteer and help out?

They didn't CHOSE Chicago, they got put on a bus by border-state governments and sent here. They're looking for asylum in America.

I suggest going to the 20thdistrictaid.com site instead - we regularly call folks who sign up and redirect them if they're better suite for another district.

That would likely be helpful. I suggest reaching out to the Latino Treatment Center in the 20th District. Their director, Adriana, is more plugged in with the citywide efforts - might be the best way to organize.

Hopefully, there's a local group in your area that you can sign up with, or you can plug into another one. Coordinating volunteers is a massive effort and we can all use the help.

Here is the signup genius link for volunteering: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0B44ACAA2FA7FE3-join#/

And the donation page for fundraising: https://www.givecentral.org/location/104/event/38145

You can also email [email protected] with any questions.

Different district groups have their own GoFundMe's and we're working on a 501(c)(3) ourselves to take on the effort of being a fiscal agent for various migrant groups. But, right now - you should be able to find links on your local group pages. Otherwise, if you sign up to the 20th district aid email list; our welcome email will have some resources and our GoFundMe link.

As a note: We all try to share resources and be equitable as best we can and that's becoming increasingly the case as we head into winter. So, feel free to donate anywhere you can - the distribution of resources evens out over the whole.

We might still be getting to it. But feel free to DM me as well - I can't put you directly in touch with a volunteer coordinator and get you going ASAP. Thank you :)

Yeah, storage and inventory management is a big issue sadly :( But, if you contact the 40th Ward Alderman's office that's where I know of a storage facility. Worst case, DM with contact info and I'll have one of our leaders get in touch with you.

Oooo. Yeah, he should quit that. That will be very bad for them and him.

Unfortunately, not every district has the manpower even to contact volunteers, because they're all very limited volunteers as well :(

If you fill out the 20th district form - we've been talking to volunteers and sending them to the right place/area.

What district are you in? I can check with that lead. In the 20th we've been lucky to have folks willing to vet and onboard volunteers, but other places don't have the manpower unfortunately :(

Because there's nothing for them in Mexico - a place plagued by its own government and economic issues. Also, people move from temperate climates to Chicago all the time - people go where they can build a life, not where they're most comfortable.

If you fill out the general form I listed above, we'll route you to D2 through that list.

Ok. So when it's you responding - it can be vague and gray. When I respond, it's black and white. Got it.

Okay - but my post isn't about any of those things. A discussion based on "I don't know anyone, therefore it doesn't occur" and on the impact of American inflation on the American economy serves no function here.

There are 18,000 migrants in our city right now who the government is barely considering in any way. And mutual aid groups have taken on the task of helping them, instead of leaving them to rot on the streets this winter. I'm asking for more folks who are willing to help, to do so. If you don't want to help - then don't. Your perspective on the socio-economic variables of Americans is not relevant to what I'm asking for.

But it's also not a competition - just because I'm suffering in one way, doesn't mean someone else's suffering is invalid or not worth caring about. People of all sorts of socio-economic backgrounds and cultures come to America "for something better" - why?

Avoid the question, that certainly makes you look smarter.

Or just help people out, that's good too.

The American Dream story is something Americans believe in. Everyone else in the world sees that we're a big diverse country where you can eek out a living. Where immigrants have made varying degrees of life since the beginning. You're right - they don't have paperwork, most of them came wearing flip-flops, and they don't have anyone to look after their kids. So what? Where they're from, 10,000 of their currency can buy one loaf of bread and the wages do not reflect those costs. That's what hyperinflation is - you make the same money, but it doesn't buy the same stuff as it did days ago.

They can trust that here - if they have a dollar, one dollar of stuff will remain relatively consistent. Even if they have to work hard for that dollar, they know that the ROI on the dollar makes relative sense to the labor given. So what jobs? Whatever jobs they can get; day labor, construction; working our farms; etc. Who takes care of the kids? Whoever the oldest kid is or a grandma or a mom - that's how folks have always done it. Do they have clothes? They get clothes that we give them and it's enough.

Folks don't have the luxury of plans. And yes - the grace and time and ability to plan can be a luxury in other parts of the world where you're just trying to survive.

I've stated where these folks are coming from and what conditions things are in. I'd like to think that folks can extrapolate any risks and concerns that exist from there.