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Democrat Mayor Eric Adams' office confirmed that the city is looking into using schools, reportedly 20 to 30, for temporary migrant shelters during the summer months.

"As Mayor Adams has said repeatedly, we have more than 51,800 asylum seekers in our care and have reached capacity," a spokesperson for City Hall told Fox News Digital Thursday. "While this option is not ideal, none are, and we are in no position to take anything off the table."

New Dorp High School, Mark Twain Middle School for the Gifted and Talented, and Russell Sage Middle School are reportedly being considered as potential migrant shelters, a source told the New York Post.
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After more than 81,200 asylum seekers have entered New York City�s intake system since Spring 2022, Adams has housed migrants in various locations, including taxpayer-funded hotel rooms, a former NYPD training facility, and the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal.

Refugees arriving in Toronto are finding themselves having to sleep on the street after funding for a housing program ran out.

‘They come to this country with a dream’: Woman teaches English to migrants on a South Loop basketball court

There hasn’t been a single day since May that Samantha Oulavong is not thinking of the migrants who stay at the police station in her neighborhood in the South Loop. The children, she said, remin...

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�They come to this country with a dream�: Woman teaches English to migrants on a South Loop basketball court

There hasn�t been a single day since May that Samantha Oulavong is not thinking of the migrants who stay at the police station in her neighborhood in the South Loop. The children, she said, remind her of her younger self, when her parents made their way from Laos seeking asylum in the Chicago area when she was 5 years old.

Of course, in more than one way, their story is not the same, she said, �but our heart is.�

�They come to this country with a dream,� she said.

Oulavong has been visiting the 1st District police station almost every day since May, when the first families began to seek refuge at the station near her home. She drops off food and clothes and, most recently, has begun to teach basic English to the migrants and their children regardless of a language barrier � she doesn�t really speak Spanish � in the bleachers of a basketball court across from the South Loop station.

�Most want to know how they can ask for a job,� she said. ��Busco trabajo,� I tell them to say, meaning, �I�m looking for a job.��

Oulavong is just one of the many Chicagoans who have stepped up to provide more than just food and donations for the thousands of asylum-seekers who have arrived to the city since August of last year, filling a void as state and city official grapple to create more temporary housing for the migrants.

The volunteers have celebrated birthdays with migrants, taken them to baseball games, given them haircuts, provided professional therapy � and now are teaching them English.

Right before 11 a.m. on a recent weekday, wearing a small summer hat and a long maxi dress, Oulavong walks over to the station to announce in broken Spanish that she is heading to the bleachers to begin the one-hour class.

In a white tote, she carries small notebooks and pencils to share with those who decide to be her students for the day. ��Quieres aprender ingl�s?� she asks a young man who approached her as she held a white dry erase board.

Though she doesn�t know Spanish, she taught herself some words and phrases that she thinks are essential for the migrants to know as they navigate their days in the station. When Oulavong and her students hit a language barrier, they communicate through a translator application on her phone.

The lessons can attract anywhere from three to 10 migrants, depending on how many are staying in the station that day. The students sit on the bleachers adjacent to the basketball court at Margaret Hie Ding Lin Park, just as the sun shines the brightest. There are mornings when classes take place alongside the loud pinging sound of basketball games.

�I wish they could be my students forever,� Oulavong said softly with a light smile. When a group that had been at the station for more than two weeks got moved, she cried and hugged them goodbye.

�It�s bittersweet, I hope it gets better for them,� she said.

When they�re moved into shelters, she assures them that she will be at the court teaching every morning at least during summer break.
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And some of Oulavong�s students are learning � at least the basics for now.

There�s Karla Urbina, a mother from Nicaragua who lived at the station for nearly a month. She was one of Oulavong�s first students. Though she has been moved to a shelter in Rogers Park, she makes the nearly hourlong train and bus commute to the South Loop every so often to keep learning English with Oulavong.

�Karla is fearless,� Oulavong said. �Sometimes she translates for us,� she laughed.

Urbina, a social worker by trade in her home country, has become a part of the volunteer network that assists the families arriving at the 1st District police station, along with Brayan Lozano, an asylum-seeker from Colombia who also spent several weeks at the station.

Lozano, also a social worker and an organizer in his home country, often encourages his fellow migrants to learn English.

�That�s the next step if we really want to succeed here,� he said.

Both Urbina and Lozano have stayed diligent in their learning process, often meeting with Oulavong or other volunteers one on one. Though their English is very limited, they�re now able to communicate their needs and the needs of those arriving, Oulavong said.

Even though the two have become an essential part of the volunteer team assisting new arrivals in the South Loop, they believe that their roles could be amplified if they were to master the English language, by not only assisting volunteers, but even helping city officials.

�Imaginate que podriamos lograr,� said Urbina with a grin. �Just imagine what we could accomplish�

What is the Welcome Center? Former school has sheltered thousands of asylum seekers

The Welcome Center has played a key role in turning Arizona into a model for providing shelter to asylum seekers released by federal authorities.

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What is the Welcome Center? Former school has sheltered thousands of asylum seekers

Fifty-seven asylum seekers � men, women and children from Guatemala, Brazil, India and Guinea � climbed off a bus at the Welcome Center one recent morning. The former school in Phoenix has expanded over the past four years into one of the busiest and most sophisticated migrant shelters along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Since the once-vacant building reopened in 2019 as a migrant shelter, more than 105,000 asylum seekers from 84 countries have passed through the same glass doors students entered.
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The Welcome Center, however, has played a key role in turning Arizona into a model for providing temporary shelter to asylum seekers released by federal authorities in a safe and orderly manner.

Buses arrive several times a day, seven days a week, bringing between 100 and 300 asylum seekers daily.
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�The Welcome Center has provided more capacity and coordination for a safer process for migrants while helping to reduce the burden on Arizona�s smaller border towns and communities that don�t have the resources or services,� said Luis Heredia, state director for U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz.
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Before the center opened in July 2019, federal authorities used to release busloads of asylum seekers at the Phoenix bus depot day and night, leaving them to fend for themselves.

Scenes of families sleeping on the floor with children, many sick with colds and respiratory illnesses caught during their long journeys, or wandering on neighboring streets begging for food, became commonplace from 2014 to 2018.

The releases created a political firestorm, drawing the ire of local and state elected officials, while humanitarian groups rushed in to deliver boxes of food, water, diapers and other supplies, turning the bus depot into a scene that resembled a refugee camp.

The disorder and confusion at the bus station mostly ended when a network of working-class Hispanic churches stepped forward in 2018, opening their doors to feed and house asylum seekers released by federal authorities.

But that effort quickly proved unsustainable. Aiding asylum seekers strained the resources of congregations. The congregations also became fearful after armed members of anti-immigrant groups began showing up, hurling accusations that the churches were facilitating illegal immigration.

Then the Welcome Center opened on July 27, 2019 � a collaboration between the International Rescue Committee, which provided resources, logistics and organizational skills, and grassroots groups such as the Phoenix Restoration Project, which provided the workforce.

The center's lack of visibility is by design. The International Rescue Committee has intentionally kept a low profile to avoid attracting the same kind of unwanted attention that plagued some local churches targeted by anti-immigrant groups that showed up to harass and intimate asylum seekers and volunteers.

There are no signs that identify the center. The building is hidden from view by a chain link fence with screening and fortified with a surveillance system and heavy locking gates. Buses enter through a rear gate, allowing asylum seekers to get off without being seen from the street. Even so, at least once someone has fired shots at the building, prompting staff to contact police, who can be seen patrolling the area.

"We have had some safety incidents," said Stanford Prescott, the senior communications officer for The International Rescue Committee, noting that no one was hurt. That is why "we are very serious about our safety. It's because there are these real threats out there."

Beth Strano used to collect water and prepare sandwiches to pass out to asylum seekers at the bus depot as a Phoenix Restoration Project volunteer. She now co-runs the Welcome Center. She is one of about 10 former volunteers hired by the International Rescue Committee to staff the center.

"Every single day and every single night, families ... were being released on a 24-hour schedule" at the bus station, Strano recalled. "The state of toddlers getting off the busses was horrifying. You know, no shoes, just wearing a diaper and kids hadn't eaten for days. It was very, very rough."

But the community responded, Strano said.

"We started to build systems that worked to help support people. We started to build relationships as grassroots groups with (the U.S. Department of Homeland Security) to coordinate when they had larger releases," she said. "And it built the foundation for us to come in and build something that could support everybody."

The center employs a staff of over 30 people. The bulk of the center's funding comes from federal emergency funding allocations to help communities provide aid to asylum seekers. The rest comes from private donations, Strano said. The center has received nearly $9.9 million in public and private funding since opening. That includes more than $6.4 million through the Emergency Food and Shelter Program and nearly $2 million through the Shelter and Services Program, both administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. There's also been almost $800,000 in other public funding. The center rents the building, which had been vacant for years, from the Phoenix Elementary School District.

By providing humanitarian assistance to asylum seekers, the Welcome Center reduces costs that used to be incurred by other local aid groups and medical facilities, Strano said. The shelter also prevents asylum seekers from winding up on the streets and adding to the state's population of unhoused people, she said.

"The cost savings alone from folks not ending up in the emergency room and instead going through a medical clinic, not ending up at the Greyhound station and ending up as long-term homeless here, that's a huge savings to the entire community," Strano said.
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There are rooms stocked with racks of donated clothing and boxes of shoes sorted by size. Asylum seekers can pick out items to replace the soiled or worn clothing they often arrive wearing. Asylum seekers are also given backpacks and personal hygiene supplies to take with them as they continue their journeys. Volunteers check paperwork, looking for errors and ensuring asylum seekers know when to check in with immigration authorities once they reach their final destinations.

Hot meals prepared in the former school's kitchen are served in a dining hall. The former school cafeteria also doubles as a living space.

On a recent morning, asylum seekers sat together at tables and charged phones. Others waited at a booth where volunteers armed with computers helped book airline tickets, typically paid for by asylum seekers' friends or relatives already in the U.S.

A television monitor looped a video explaining how to navigate the security and boarding process at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. A free shuttle transports asylum seekers there. Staff at the center coordinate with officials at the airport, Strano said.

Governor Healey asks residents to house migrant families amid growing shelter crisis

The state’s shelters are reaching capacity and now the governor is asking residents to help by opening their doors.

Yahoo News · us.yahoo.com

Governor Healey asks residents to house migrant families amid growing shelter crisis
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The state�s shelters are reaching capacity and now the governor is asking residents to help by opening their doors. That was part of Governor

�s announcement--as she also is looking for help from the federal government.

The governor said anywhere between 10 to 30 migrant families a day are coming into Massachusetts. There are 40 hotels across the state helping to house them, but the governor is now pleading for help from the federal government�as well as you.

Governor Healey says close to 5,600 families are currently housed in the state�s emergency shelter system. That number is 80% higher than one year ago. Massachusetts is the only state in the country with a right-to-shelter law that guarantees homeless families access to emergency shelters. She says Massachusetts has been spending around $45 million a month to help assist these families. The situation is so bad, the Healey administration is now asking people to open their homes and businesses to help people in need.

�Most importantly, if you have an extra room or suite in your home, please consider hosting a family. Housing and shelter is our most pressing need and become a sponsor family,� said Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll.

Maura Healey - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

On January 31, 2017, Healey announced that her office was joining a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump's Executive Order 13769,[38][39] commonly known as a "Muslim ban."[40][41] Healey condemned the order as "motivated by anti-Muslim sentiment and Islamophobia, not by a desire to further national security."[38] A federal court eventually struck the order down on similar grounds.[42]

On March 9, 2017, Healey announced that her office was joining a lawsuit challenging Trump's Executive Order 13780.[43][44] She said the new order, a revised version of the one that had been struck down, "remains a discriminatory and unconstitutional attempt to make good on [Trump's] campaign promise to implement a Muslim ban."[43] The order has been blocked in various federal courts on similar grounds.[44][45]

On May 11, 2017, after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, Healey led efforts calling for a special counsel to investigate Russia's meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Reelect Maura Healey for Governor

Reelect Maura Healey to keep moving Massachusetts forward with strong leadership, teamwork, and results for working families.

Maura Healey for Governor · maurahealey.com

Home Office’s ex-asylum boss joins pro-migrant charity

A former Home Office chief accused of resisting key Conservative policies while in charge of asylum is joining a charity that has said the Government’s policies are “inhumane, racist and divisi...

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Home Office�s ex-asylum boss joins pro-migrant charity

A former Home Office chief accused of resisting key Conservative policies while in charge of asylum is joining a charity that has said the Government�s policies are �inhumane, racist and divisive�.

Emma Haddad, who was the Home Office�s director general for asylum until October 2022, will help to oversee Amnesty International UK, which has been campaigning against the Government�s attempts to halt Channel crossings and deport migrants to Rwanda.
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One source described Ms Haddad as �very difficult� and the �chief blocker� of ministers� policies during her time at the Home Office. A Home Office source claimed that, during her time at the top of the department, the senior civil servant was �hostile� to the Government�s agenda on asylum
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an email in Suella Braverman�s name to Conservative members blamed an �activist blob of Left-wing lawyers, civil servants and the Labour Party� for blocking the Government�s plans to stop small boats carrying migrants across the Channel.
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Ms Haddad, who has also taken up a post as chief executive of St Mungo�s, the homelessness charity, since leaving the Home Office, applied for the unpaid role at Amnesty having seen an advertisement.

Amnesty has been one of the fiercest opponents of the Government�s crackdown on illegal Channel crossings over several years, describing Rishi Sunak�s Illegal Migration Act, which became law in July, as �inhumane, racist and divisive�.
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In April, the charity stated: �Harsh asylum and immigration policies do not deter people from making dangerous journeys, indeed, the Home Office�s own research contradicts this � The Home Secretary has spread nonsensical scare stories about the numbers of people trying to come to the UK and blamed people for failing to take safe and legal routes that do not exist.�

�The View� co-host Ana Navarro called for illegal migrants to be moved from major U.S. cities and �resettled elsewhere� Friday.

Navarro argued the U.S. is big enough to spread illegal migrants out and allow them to resettle outside of the overwhelmed big cities
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�They need to be spread out. This is such a massive country,� co-host Sara Haines said in agreement.

�And it�s only going to get worse with global warming and climate change, because people can�t live in certain parts of this world,� co-host Joy Behar said.

Ana Navarro - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

She is a member of the Republican Party.[6]
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In October 2016, she made headlines when she strongly criticized Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on CNN after the Donald Trump and Billy Bush recording surfaced, and called for party leaders to disown Trump.[17][18] She also harshly criticized Trump's comments about immigrants, labeling him a racist.[19] Navarro has been labeled a "Never Trumper."[20] She voted for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton
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Navarro was a vocal opponent of Roy Moore in the 2017 Alabama Senate election, due to the allegations of sexual assault and molestation against him.[21] In the 2018 Florida gubernatorial election, Navarro voted for Democrat Andrew Gillum over Republican Ron DeSantis because of DeSantis' ties to Trump.[15] On August 11, 2020, she stated that she would be voting for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden in the 2020 United States presidential election.[22] She and George Lopez hosted an online concert fundraiser for Biden on October 25, 2020.[23]
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She is a strong supporter of LGBTQ+ Rights. In February 2013, Navarro publicly supported the legalization of same-sex marriage in an amicus curiae brief submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court.[24] In 2017 she spoke out against the Trump Administration's ban on Transgender Individuals serving in the Military, calling it "repugnant".[25] In 2019 she was given the Ally Leadership Award by Equality California for her activism in support of the LGBTQ+ Community.[26] In 2022 she criticized the passage of the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act calling it "completely unnecessary" and in 2023 spoke out against Drag Panic and anti-drag legislation saying "I hate how drag queens are being made into a political issue, into a manufactured, made-up cultural issue, because I tell you what: No drag queen ever killed a little kid

Italy works to transfer thousands of migrants who reached a tiny island in a day

A migrant reception center in Italy’s southernmost island of Lampedusa was overwhelmed Thursday as authorities worked to transfer to the mainland thousands of people who arrived on small, unseawo...

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LAMPEDUSA ISLAND, Italy (AP) � A migrant reception center in Italy�s southernmost island of Lampedusa was overwhelmed Thursday as authorities worked to transfer to the mainland thousands of people who arrived on small, unseaworthy boats in a 24-hour span this week.
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Commercial ferries and Italian military vessels were taking newcomers from Lampedusa to mainland Italy.

�After a particularly challenging day like yesterday, today people are being continuously transferred,�� Francesca Basile of the Italian Red Cross said.

Some residents handed out pasta, Sicilian rice balls and water to the migrants they encountered. A pair of islanders lugging a carton of fresh peaches stopped to give pieces of fruit to migrants
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A local firefighter said he asked his mother to cook up spaghetti and serve several young men from Burkina Faso
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�They were exhausted, but above all famished,'' ANSA quoted Antonello Di Malta as saying about the migrants his mother fed on their patio. �One of them got down on his knees, asking to eat."