Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights meeting, March 28, 2024
- When: Thu, Mar 28, 2024, 10:00 AM (Chicago time)
- Where: City Council Chamber, 2nd Floor, City Hall, 121 North LaSalle Street - Chicago, IL 60602
- Status: Scheduled & Published
- Committee: Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights
- Video: https://vimeo.com/showcase/8928487/video/926342043
- Transcript: full text (15,186 words, official captions)
Meeting notes
AI-written from the transcript. Speakers are inferred from cues in the recording, so treat names as estimates and check the video at the linked time.
The Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights, chaired by Alderperson Andre Vasquez Jr., heard twelve public commenters, many of whom criticized city policies toward new arrivals and individual council members. The committee approved its January Rule 45 report and considered an ordinance requiring the Department of Family and Support Services to report shelter exit statistics, grievances and returns at new arrival shelters. The chair presented a substitute developed with the administration that removes daily grievance reporting, allows 30 days after passage before reporting begins, and sunsets reporting 120 days after shelter exits end. Members asked to add country of origin, raised whether daily reporting is feasible versus weekly, and asked about extensions for families and LGBTQ+ data; department staff said they collect country of origin and the Law Department said adding it would be doable. After a recess, the committee accepted an amended substitute and recommended passage for the April 17, 2024 City Council meeting.
Topics: new arrivals, shelter exits, shelter reporting ordinance, data transparency, grievance reporting, country of origin, LGBTQ+ data, public comment
Agenda items discussed
- 1:04:15 January Rule 45 report: passed
- 1:04:27 Ordinance requiring DFSS reporting of shelter exit statistics and conditions at new arrival shelters (substitute, as amended) (O2024-0008386): passed
Alderpersons who spoke
- Andre Vasquez Jr. (chair): Said the ordinance standardizes existing city reporting to provide transparency on shelter exits and conditions. (1:05:03); Explained the ordinance would give alderpersons and the public regular data on shelter exits to understand where people go after the 60-day policy. (1:06:51); Described daily exit data by shelter, age, gender, time in shelter and exception screening, noting daily grievance reporting was removed at the administration's request. (1:07:39)
- Pat Dowell (alderperson): Asked that the ordinance include country of origin, citing concerns about marginalization of members of the African diaspora among new arrivals. (1:14:09); Said she would support weekly instead of daily reporting and asked what the 'other' incident category includes. (1:34:30)
- Jeylú B. Gutiérrez (alderperson): Asked whether extensions for asylum seekers with children in school would affect exit reporting. (1:19:46)
- Ruth Cruz (alderperson): Asked whether daily reporting sets the city up to fail and suggested weekly reporting for consistency. (1:24:58); Asked who would track people exiting shelters, going to the landing zone and returning. (1:26:09); Restated her suggestion of weekly reporting given that daily reports may not be achievable. (1:29:30)
- Timothy R. Knudsen (alderperson): Asked whether shelter intake allows self-identification for LGBTQ+ people and said identity information can matter for services and asylum claims. (1:29:51); Asked whether LGBTQ+ data could be reported in aggregate without personal identifying information and noted certain populations are more at risk in shelters. (1:31:42)
Exchanges between members
- 1:14:48 Vasquez responded to Dowell that the original draft included country of origin for the same reason and supported restoring it.
- 1:20:06 Vasquez answered Gutiérrez that the ordinance would not affect extension decisions.
- 1:25:01 Cruz said she had shared with the chair her concern that daily reporting may not be achievable.
- 1:26:34 Vasquez answered Cruz on which data points were confirmed feasible daily and who tracks exits.
- 1:33:51 Knudsen said his question paralleled Dowell's point about at-risk populations in shelters.
- 1:34:30 Dowell said she would support Cruz's suggestion of weekly rather than daily reporting.