The program allows undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens to apply for a green card and eventually citizenship without leaving the country, a process known as “parole in place.” The White House estimated about 500,000 people were eligible for the program. 

Since officials’ dire warnings of a renewed surge, fewer than 1,600 migrants have made their way to Chicago, and the shelter population has remained at the lowest point since the crisis began, according to city data.

“Mass Deportation Now!” declared the signs at the Republican National Convention, giving a full embrace to Donald Trump’s pledge to expel millions of migrants in the largest deportation program in American history.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has made threats to ramp up his efforts to send asylum-seekers to Chicago while the city is in the national spotlight. Local organizations and officials say they’re preparing for that possibility as the city approaches two years since the arrival of the first bus in Chicago.

The federal lawsuit was filed on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. According to the complaint, the five plaintiffs claim they were unfairly targeted by off-duty police officers who work as security guards at the Home Depot store at 47th Street and Western Avenue.  

City officials said Tuesday they are “hyper prepared” for a renewed surge of buses paid for by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to arrive in Chicago before the Democratic National Convention kicks off in less than four weeks.

The stories of five asylum-seekers who arrived in Chicago from Latin America are told in a new documentary series from WTTW. “Firsthand: Homeless – The Migrant Experience” profiles five people who left their home countries and traveled across continents to begin a new life.

The announcement is a welcome development for President Joe Biden, whose executive action on June 4 that shut off access to asylum for migrants who cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally sought to address an ongoing crisis that has become a significant political challenge.

For some local advocates who work on immigrations issues, the action is a welcome one.

A new Biden administration policy announced Tuesday will give roughly half a million immigrants who are married to American citizens but lack legal status in the United States a pathway to citizenship for them and their children.

“We are still living up to our values,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said. “We are providing care in a way that nowhere else in the country you’re seeing.”

The acknowledgement that approximately 500 people returned to city shelters after living there for at least two months raises new questions about plans by officials to start evicting families with school-age children from city shelters on Monday.

The measure takes effect immediately because the new policy is triggered when arrests for illegal entry reach 2,500. About 4,000 people already are entering the U.S. each day. 

The end of the outbreak comes after nearly six weeks, or two incubation periods, without any new measles cases, according to a news release. The last measles case was reported April 20.

The programs rolled out during the pandemic, providing benefits for immigrant adults and seniors. They offered health coverage for low-income individuals who did not qualify for Medicaid because of their immigration status.

There are no plans to use the former school as a shelter in the future, according to a spokesperson for Mayor Brandon Johnson.