Chicago closes migrant shelters in Hyde Park and The Loop

CHICAGO (CBS) -- With the number of migrants living in shelters in Chicago continuing to drop, the city has closed two more shelters – in Hyde Park and the Loop.

City officials confirmed Friday that migrant shelters at the Standard Social Club, at 320 S. Plymouth Ct., and at the Chicago Lake Shore Hotel, at 4900 S DuSable Lake Shore Dr., have been closed.

All migrants who had been staying at those shelters were offered spots at other shelters.

The closures come as the total population of migrants living in shelters dropped to below 5,000 this week, the first time the city's migrant shelter population has been that low since late June 2023, according to data provided by the City Council Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott began sending migrants to Chicago in August 2022 in protest of the Biden administration's handling of immigration at the southern border.

While the number of migrants coming to Chicago has slowed significantly since the start of this year, city officials had been expecting Abbott to send thousands of migrants by bus to Chicago ahead of the Democratic National Convention in August.

At the Republican National Convention in July, Abbott said, "Those buses will continue to roll until we finally secure our border."

However, Abbott's threat never materialized, and the number of migrants living in Chicago's shelters has been dropping throughout the year, after peaking at around 15,000 in January.

The city also closed migrant shelters in Pilsen and West Town on Oct. 1 , and a state-run shelter at a former CVS store in Little Village will close on Nov. 3.

As of Friday, a total of 4,990 migrants were staying in the 13 open shelters in Chicago.