Migrant families move into West Town shelter amid controversy and legal battles

CHICAGO - Move-in day is finally here for dozens of migrant families who will now call West Town 'home.'

However, the shelter on Western Avenue didn't come without controversy.

A couple of neighbors recently filed a lawsuit against the city, hoping to stop migrants from moving in, but last week, a judge denied their request for a temporary restraining order. 

Located near Western and Ohio, the building has undergone repairs in recent weeks to prepare for new arrivals, including adding more bathroom facilities. 

The move-in date was postponed a few times, but on Wednesday morning, buses pulled up and migrant families, with their personal belongings in tow, were brought inside. Another bus arrived later in the day.

A welcome change up until now, they've been living in tents outside or in the lobbies of police stations.

Meanwhile, in Oak Park, the village is re-locating roughly 160 migrants who arrived there in the last week. 

They have been staying at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and United Lutheran Church, but those spaces were only available temporarily. 

Now, Oak Park has reached agreements with the West Cook YMCA and the Carleton Hotel. 

This stemmed from a concerned resident who reached out to Oak Park officials during last week's blast of cold and snow asking if they could assist the migrants staying at a nearby Chicago Police District. 

"Asylum seekers were brought to the police station while officials and volunteers worked to figure out what the next step would be and that interim step was the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church here in Oak Park, which opened their doors at midnight or 1 in the morning to start receiving asylum seekers," said Dan Yopchick, Chief Communications Officer for the Village of Oak Park.

The Village of Oak Park has received a total of $550,000 in funding to support asylum seekers.