The number of undocumented immigrants ages 65 and over in Illinois is set to grow exponentially. Advocates say it’s a crisis in the making.
It didn’t take Pillado long to secure a job at the meatpacking plant; and Alonso and Rocio found work through temp agencies. They kept expenses low by living together in a small apartment in the Back of the Yards neighborhood. The two-unit building they lived in was owned by a distant family member who lived upstairs. The idea was to pay off the mortgage together and get some equity out of it, so they could return to Mexico to retire.
And research shows that as undocumented immigrants get older, they begin to rely more heavily on their children for basic needs like food and housing, which puts a burden on the next generation. Rob Paral, a Chicago demographer and expert on the state’s immigrant population trends whose research was used in the Rush report, estimates that 70% of undocumented immigrants age 55 and older in Illinois live in multigenerational households, compared with 28% of native-born older adults.
Rocio Pillado, center, visits her parents, Gregorio Pillado and Martina Alonso, as they take Rocio's dog for a walk in Chicago on March 14, 2022. But Rocio remains her parents’ primary caretaker. She brings them groceries, helps pay their bills, and takes days off work to take them to their doctor’s appointments. Those trips, which became more frequent over the last few years, eventually cost her a job at a warehouse.