Migrants in Chicago: Crews begin construction of Brighton Park migrant camp

CHICAGO (WLS) — After six weeks of speculation and controversy, construction has officially begun in the city’s first migrant tent camp in Brighton Park.

Once the winterized base camp is complete, it could house anywhere from 500 to 2,000 migrants. The mayor’s office telling us framing of one to two of the structures will take place Wednesday.

The camp will have separate living, dining and bathroom facilities. The camp itself is being funded not by the city, but by the state.

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It will be run in conjunction with several philanthropic partners whose job it will be to help arriving migrants navigate through the immediate emergency on their way to independent living, with the city recently imposing new guidelines limiting migrants to 60-day stays within the shelter system.

The site has been subject to a tremendous amount of controversy. Like they have been nearly on a daily basis for the last six weeks, residents of the immediate area were out once again to speak out against what they believe will be a drain on the community’s already limited resources.

There are also long-standing environmental concerns regarding this land, which have been only recently disclosed. Officials, however, said checks are ongoing and no one will be moving in until all remediation is complete.

The city and state said they hope the camp will be up and running as of mid-December.