The Chicago Immigrant Transit Assistance (CITA) program was the original program and continues as the ICDI Welcome Team, which accompanies recently-arrived asylum seekers in the Chicago Greyhound bus station who have a bus layover or are arriving at their final destination in Chicago. Similarly, the ICDI Essentials and Case Management programs assist post-transit immigrants with settling in by providing essential items and services.

ICDI Welcome Team volunteers greet individuals and families being released from immigration detention across the U.S. However, most of the asylum seekers we serve are processed and released from detention facilities at the U.S./Mexico border. By the time asylum seekers arrive at the Chicago Greyhound station, they often have spent at least two days on the bus and likely have not had a proper meal until met by ICDI volunteers.