CHICAGO, IL - Residents from the Windy City protested their opposition to a new migrant housing proposal, telling Mayor Brandon Johnson and other city officials, that they work for the American people, not those illegally taking over in "sanctuary" cities across the country.
Video footage from a meeting being held at the field house gym at Amundsen Park, which is the location that has been chosen by the city to shelter 200 migrants for approximately six months.
The meeting was packed, with residents filling up the inside and outside of the building. During the meeting, people in the crowd can be heard chanting "you work for us" and "what about kids?"
This was the second meeting the city held as officials rush to house hundreds of asylum-seekers arriving illegally at the southern border.
At previous meetings, city officials presented on how the proposed shelters would operate and answered several frequently asked questions. However, at the most recent meeting, many of the officials sitting on the panel could not speak because the crowd drowned them out.
Alderman Chris Taliaferro, 29th, attempted several times to shush the people so that the city officials could speak, but all he received was loud boos and shouts as he expressed his own support for Mayor Johnson's administrations work to house the migrants. One resident said:
"This is our park and we have a right to say so. You need to stop the buses, stop sanctuary city right now and get to the root of the problem."
Another resident said:
"I have compassion, but I can only go so far."
Despite these complaints, Mayor Johnson, a Democrat, insists that Chicago remain a sanctuary city. As a comparison, Mayor Eric Adams of New York City, also a Democrat, has mentioned several times in the last several weeks that the illegal immigrant problem is not going away and that it is going to destroy the city.
At the end of September, Mayor Johnson quietly signed a $29 million contract with a security firm to build these migrant base camps.
According to the Daily Mail, the city's deal with Garda World frim, includes at least six locations across the city with zones holding between 200 and 1,400 illegal immigrants. These camps will include bedding, laundry, showers and three meals a day, plus security.
One resident asked:
"I want to know if there is a capacity limit and what is that limit if there is one? And why can't we close the borders of Chicago or the state of Illinois in the first place? Why can't we close the border?"
Chicago has seen 13,000 migrants arrive in the city since August 2022, and the surge is expected to cost taxpayers $302 million by the end of 2023.
At the beginning of September, Johnson announced his plans to move nearly 1,600 migrants currently living in police stations and at the O'Hare and Midway airports. He defended his deal with Garda World, arguing that it is a way to house those migrants. His office said in a statement:
"The first of Mayor Johnson's priorities is to replace the police stations with shelters forming a base camp. Using this contract enables the city to stand up the base camps expeditiously and more quickly move new arrivals from Chicago Police Department district stations as the weather begins to change."
The statement added:
"The base camps will be incorporated into the city's toolbox for temporary shelters and provide a safe, short-term space with access to immediate care and resources."
As Mayor Johnson continues to ignore the migrant crisis, push a hike in taxes in order to fight homlessness in the city and create city-run grocery stores to promote "equitable access" to food, data shows that the Windy City is being plagued by violent crime.
There has been an 86 percent rise in motor vehicle theft rates compared to 2022. Murder rates have risen by 19 percent over the past four years under the disastrous leadership of Lori Lightfoot. And, robberies are up 30 percent.
Video footage from a meeting being held at the field house gym at Amundsen Park, which is the location that has been chosen by the city to shelter 200 migrants for approximately six months.
The meeting was packed, with residents filling up the inside and outside of the building. During the meeting, people in the crowd can be heard chanting "you work for us" and "what about kids?"
This was the second meeting the city held as officials rush to house hundreds of asylum-seekers arriving illegally at the southern border.
At previous meetings, city officials presented on how the proposed shelters would operate and answered several frequently asked questions. However, at the most recent meeting, many of the officials sitting on the panel could not speak because the crowd drowned them out.
Alderman Chris Taliaferro, 29th, attempted several times to shush the people so that the city officials could speak, but all he received was loud boos and shouts as he expressed his own support for Mayor Johnson's administrations work to house the migrants. One resident said:
"This is our park and we have a right to say so. You need to stop the buses, stop sanctuary city right now and get to the root of the problem."
Another resident said:
"I have compassion, but I can only go so far."
Despite these complaints, Mayor Johnson, a Democrat, insists that Chicago remain a sanctuary city. As a comparison, Mayor Eric Adams of New York City, also a Democrat, has mentioned several times in the last several weeks that the illegal immigrant problem is not going away and that it is going to destroy the city.
At the end of September, Mayor Johnson quietly signed a $29 million contract with a security firm to build these migrant base camps.
According to the Daily Mail, the city's deal with Garda World frim, includes at least six locations across the city with zones holding between 200 and 1,400 illegal immigrants. These camps will include bedding, laundry, showers and three meals a day, plus security.
One resident asked:
"I want to know if there is a capacity limit and what is that limit if there is one? And why can't we close the borders of Chicago or the state of Illinois in the first place? Why can't we close the border?"
Chicago has seen 13,000 migrants arrive in the city since August 2022, and the surge is expected to cost taxpayers $302 million by the end of 2023.
At the beginning of September, Johnson announced his plans to move nearly 1,600 migrants currently living in police stations and at the O'Hare and Midway airports. He defended his deal with Garda World, arguing that it is a way to house those migrants. His office said in a statement:
"The first of Mayor Johnson's priorities is to replace the police stations with shelters forming a base camp. Using this contract enables the city to stand up the base camps expeditiously and more quickly move new arrivals from Chicago Police Department district stations as the weather begins to change."
The statement added:
"The base camps will be incorporated into the city's toolbox for temporary shelters and provide a safe, short-term space with access to immediate care and resources."
As Mayor Johnson continues to ignore the migrant crisis, push a hike in taxes in order to fight homlessness in the city and create city-run grocery stores to promote "equitable access" to food, data shows that the Windy City is being plagued by violent crime.
There has been an 86 percent rise in motor vehicle theft rates compared to 2022. Murder rates have risen by 19 percent over the past four years under the disastrous leadership of Lori Lightfoot. And, robberies are up 30 percent.
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