New Arrivals/Asylum Seekers in Chicago
This project explores the situations and experiences of new arrivals/asylum seekers who have recently arrived in Chicago. Chicago has experienced a significant increase in the number of newcomers, due to Operation Lone Star, launched by Texas Governor Greg Abbott in March 2021. Since August 2022, Governor Abbott has bused more than 30,000 migrants to Chicago. The City of Chicago has acknowledged its responsibility to welcome everyone regardless of immigration status, adopting a proactive stance toward this humanitarian emergency. However, newcomers still struggle to get access to basic needs in the city. We have conducted a face-to-face, cross-sectional survey to collect data on access to basic needs such as housing, food, and healthcare, as well as the challenges newcomers have faced both in Chicago and in their countries of origin.
The survey was conducted in Spanish between April and June 2025 in Chicago and surrounding suburbs. The research team partnered with community organizations across various neighborhoods to connect with newly arrived individuals and administer the survey in trusted, safe environments, using a convenience sampling method to reach this vulnerable population. All survey administrators were bilingual and communicated with respondents in Spanish. Only one person per household was eligible to participate, and all participants were required to be at least 18 years old. Respondents completed the survey individually and in privacy using tablets equipped with Qualtrics software. The final sample includes 318 respondents.
Project Team:
Cristian L. Paredes, Principal Investigator
Maria Akchurin, Co-Principal Investigator
Peter Rosenblatt, Co-Principal Investigator
Keyla Navarrete, Research Coordinator—PhD, Sociology, Loyola University Chicago (2025), Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of Wisconsin–Whitewater
Raymond Akumbilim, Senior Research Assistant—PhD Student, Sociology, Loyola University Chicago
Anna Bullock, Research Assistant—Undergraduate Student in Human Services, Sociology, and Social Work, Loyola University Chicago
Brianna Hernandez, Research Assistant—Undergraduate Student in Sociology, Loyola University Chicago
This project was funded by the Ratner Endowment President’s Innovation Fund at Loyola University Chicago.
This project explores the situations and experiences of new arrivals/asylum seekers who have recently arrived in Chicago. Chicago has experienced a significant increase in the number of newcomers, due to Operation Lone Star, launched by Texas Governor Greg Abbott in March 2021. Since August 2022, Governor Abbott has bused more than 30,000 migrants to Chicago. The City of Chicago has acknowledged its responsibility to welcome everyone regardless of immigration status, adopting a proactive stance toward this humanitarian emergency. However, newcomers still struggle to get access to basic needs in the city. We have conducted a face-to-face, cross-sectional survey to collect data on access to basic needs such as housing, food, and healthcare, as well as the challenges newcomers have faced both in Chicago and in their countries of origin.
The survey was conducted in Spanish between April and June 2025 in Chicago and surrounding suburbs. The research team partnered with community organizations across various neighborhoods to connect with newly arrived individuals and administer the survey in trusted, safe environments, using a convenience sampling method to reach this vulnerable population. All survey administrators were bilingual and communicated with respondents in Spanish. Only one person per household was eligible to participate, and all participants were required to be at least 18 years old. Respondents completed the survey individually and in privacy using tablets equipped with Qualtrics software. The final sample includes 318 respondents.
Project Team:
Cristian L. Paredes, Principal Investigator
Maria Akchurin, Co-Principal Investigator
Peter Rosenblatt, Co-Principal Investigator
Keyla Navarrete, Research Coordinator—PhD, Sociology, Loyola University Chicago (2025), Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of Wisconsin–Whitewater
Raymond Akumbilim, Senior Research Assistant—PhD Student, Sociology, Loyola University Chicago
Anna Bullock, Research Assistant—Undergraduate Student in Human Services, Sociology, and Social Work, Loyola University Chicago
Brianna Hernandez, Research Assistant—Undergraduate Student in Sociology, Loyola University Chicago
This project was funded by the Ratner Endowment President’s Innovation Fund at Loyola University Chicago.