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Grantee reveals that Chicago officials ignored warnings of migrant shelter conditions leading up to child’s death – and that unsafe conditions persist

People hang out in front of Chicago’s largest migrant shelter in Pilsen on Feb. 23, 2024. Mauricio Peña/Borderless Magazine Credit: Mauricio Peña/Borderless Magazine

Migrants in a Chicago shelter lived in unsafe conditions before and after the high-profile death of a child at the shelter, according to an investigation by Borderless Magazine, with support from the Fund. Mauricio Pena, Katrina Pham and Nissa Rhee reported that a dozen migrants filed complaints of inhumane conditions, including freezing temperatures in the shelter and outbreaks of chickenpox, the flu and other infections, with no medical care. After a seven-year-old boy died in the shelter, Chicago officials vowed to improve conditions, but Borderless interviewed dozens of migrants who say unsafe, unsanitary conditions persist.