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StreetWise

Chicagoans come together to support South American migrants

Immigration16 min read23 Dec 2023

By Suzanne Hanney

Chicago, US is currently home to thousands of migrants from Venezuela and other South American countries, many of them facing homelessness. Local street paper StreetWise reports on the crisis – and on efforts to change lives.

A meeting at Kelly High School, Chicago, US on 24 October regarding a nearby migrant camp drew differing views from three people: a neighborhood resident, a second-generation immigrant – and a one-time political detainee who walked from Venezuela to Mexico.

“I am very mad, because in this country, I have friends, family who [have] live[d] in this country [for] 30 years and don’t have papers, don’t have benefits, and now these people have benefits,” said Silvia Vegas, who lives three blocks away from the proposed winterised encampment.

This article first appeared in Street Spirit, a magazine sold on the streets of Chicago, Illinois, US, by people who have limited other ways of earning an income.

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