Chicagoans try to help newly arrived migrants as ‘welcoming city of immigrants’ faces a space crunch for asylum-seekers

Two boys from Venezuela, 8 years old (right) and 11, whose mother requested that their names not be published, eating donated food while sitting on the floor at the Eighth District police station in Chicago Lawn. It’s among Chicago police stations where asylum-seekers have been temporarily sleeping while they wait for shelter. (Pat Nabong / Sun-Times)

Yeraldin Centeno, entering her sixth day living in the lobby of the Chicago Lawn district police station, relies on the generosity of strangers for her basic needs.

Centeno, 28, a native of Venezuela, arrived in Chicago in late April with her husband and their two children. They knew nothing about the city.