Illinois is one of the few states that provides Medicaid-style health care benefits to undocumented immigrants, but that coverage is proving costly and the state is scaling back. It’s causing a political rift.

For refugees, the road to resettlement is often far from smooth. Not only is the journey to the U.S. often dangerous, but once refugees arrive, they can face language barriers, legal challenges and financial difficulties.

As part of the city’s response, police stations have become makeshift shelters for new migrants before they transition into long-term housing. Recently, a volunteer team of medical students has begun making the rounds at those police stations to assist with refugees’ health needs. 

A plan to provide $51 million in migrant care passed by a comfortable margin at this week’s Chicago City Council meeting. But the lead-up to that vote was met with upheaval and racist remarks from audience members.

In all, city officials expect to spend $112 million through the end of June from a combination of state, federal and local funds to feed and shelter the migrants. More than 4,000 recent arrivals from Texas are living in city shelters, leaving another 500 people to sleep on the floor of police stations across the city.

Service in the U.S. military can be a speedier route for people hoping to get citizenship, but it’s not a guarantee. Non-citizen veterans are subject to deportation for crimes committed after the military service, and application of those rules can be inconsistent across states.

Approximately 784 men, women and children are living on floors in Chicago police stations across the city as of Tuesday, officials said.

The vote represents a reversal from March 30, when nearly two-thirds of the Chicago City Council voted to approve a declaration of independence — five days before Mayor Brandon Johnson defeated former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas in the runoff.

When Mayor Brandon Johnson picks up the mayor’s gavel for the first time, he will have been in office for just 10 days — and if he had a brief honeymoon, Wednesday’s meeting of the City Council will signal its end.

Ald. Nicholas Sposato (38th Ward) hosted a community meeting Tuesday to discuss the city’s plan to use parts of Wright College as a respite center — a temporary location where 400 asylum seekers will have a place to rest, take a shower and receive a hot meal as the city works to find shelter for them.

On Monday, WTTW News reporter Joanna Hernandez moderated the latest edition of our “Latino Voices” community conversations and discussed with community leaders what being a sanctuary city to immigrants really means.

The 8-year-old girl and her family were being held in Harlingen, Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley, one of the busiest corridors for migrant crossings. The girl experienced “a medical emergency” and emergency medical services were called. 

One roadblock to the passage of a state budget this week has been a set of programs in which Illinois provides health care coverage to green-card holders and undocumented residents.

But US authorities saw a 50% drop in the number of migrant encounters along the border over the previous two days compared to earlier in the week — before Title 42 ended. The situation at the border is “very fluid,” a senior Homeland Security official told reporters Monday.

The policy allowed authorities to quickly expel migrants at U.S. borders in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19. More than 2.8 million migrants were expelled, according to Customs and Border protection data. But the policy has also created more confusion and misinformation among the people who are seeking asylum in the U.S.

The residents say they have filed a motion for an emergency temporary restraining order against the city of Chicago and Chicago Public Schools to prevent a migrant respite center from opening in the former South Shore High School building.