Jewish Federation of Chicago begins the Fund for Asylum Seekers

Asylum seekers need attention all the time as they never have their own food, the place to live, and money to spend. They are dropped off by bus in an unknown city having nothing in their hands to fulfill their living expenditures. Jewish Family Service of San Diego helps these asylum seekers. The Jews of Chicago come forward to assist them.

The San Diego affiliate of HIAS has assisted more than 17000 asylum seekers so far. The asylum seekers have been processed by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and then released at any location. When the ICE releases them, they do not have any money, food, and shelter. Most of them do not speak English and they find it tough to communicate. They can neither make phone calls nor buy tickets.

The asylum seekers also get sick and dehydrated upon their release from the custody of ICE. They end up on the street or become a victim of human trafficking. The Jewish Federation of Chicago has begun a Fund for Asylum Seekers. Bill Silverstein, Chairman of Jewish Community Relations Council, said, “We are opening the Jewish Federation Fund for Asylum Seekers. The Council has taken the decision of making the fund after hearing about the anguished situation from the community members.

The fund will help three organization which provide assistance and help to the asylum seekers. These organizations are JFS of San Diego, the Young Center, and RAICES. The JFS of San Diego runs a migrant family shelter. It provides the meal, shelter, medical services, travel services, and legal assistance to the migrants. The Young Center manages unaccompanied and separated children. RAICES provides free and low-cost legal services to asylum seekers.

The current decision of the government against the migrants have intensified the situation. More than 700000 people have been detained by the Customs and Border Protection in the past eight months. The detention centers have been overcrowded. The money, which will be collected from this fund, will directly go to assist the asylum seekers.