Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson announced on Monday that the city is again delaying enforcement of a 60-day rule that would have evicted nearly 3,000 migrants from shelters around the city at the beginning of February.

The evictions will be delayed through the end of March and depending on when migrants arrived at shelters. This is the third time the policy has been delayed due to Chicago’s severe weather conditions. Johnson said the city will continue monitoring the situation through the winter months.

“Our plan for temporary emergency shelter was never meant as a long-term housing solution,” Johnson said at a press conference on Monday. “But we want to give every person and every single family that has come to our city enough time to process.”

Last week, several Chicago council members signed a letter asking that the city suspend its 60-day plan, which it called “a significant threat to the health and safety of new arrivals.” It also called for improved conditions at shelters after reports about inadequate food and rodent infestations surfaced. In December, city services came under scrutiny after a 5-year-old migrant boy became sick and died.

Johnson and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker have been at odds about how to handle the influx of new arrivals. Pritzker last week said he was “deeply concerned” that Chicago was not adding more beds to house migrants, instead focusing on efforts to expedite the shelter process, according to the Chicago Tribune.

As of mid-January, nearly 15,000 migrants occupy 28 shelters in Chicago, with hundreds more awaiting lodging, according to city data. Since summer 2022, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has been bussing and flying out migrants arriving from the southern border as part of the state’s “Operation Lone Star.” Chicago has received about 34,000 new arrivals in the last couple of years.

On Jan. 16, Pritzker announced $17 million in additional funds to help receive new arrivals in Illinois, including money to support nonprofits and build shelter capacity in cities beyond Chicago. Grants have been given to Chicago, Elgin, Lake County, the City of Urbana, and the Village of Oak Park.

But no other cities have agreed to participate since then, Johnson said.

Johnson said the city implemented the 60-day rule “in conjunction with” Illinois’ announcement that it would provide more resources to address new arrivals. Several cities across the country such as Denver and New York City have implemented similar policies to quickly move people out of shelters and ideally into long term housing.

Officials estimated that more than 6,000 migrants were expected to leave the shelters by the end of February had the 60-day rule gone into effect.

According to Block Club Chicago, the shelter deadlines have created “panic” among migrants, with single-page eviction notices handed out days before they need to leave. City officials said residents facing imminent evictions will receive notices of the delay.