Furious Chicagoans who voted overwhelmingly for President Biden in the last election have spoken out angrily over the hundreds of migrants brought to the area who are knocking longtime residents off waiting lists for housing.
The former South Shore High School is to serve as a temporary holding space for up to 500 migrants and authorities have not yet said for how long.
Residents of the heavily Democratic South Shore suburb are speaking out after a lawsuit was filed claiming the school had not been zoned for residential purposes and residents had not been properly consulted on the plans.
“All these resources that haven’t reached us now, you want to compensate people who have never lived here before.” We must first and foremost be taken care of before anything else happens! asked a woman.
“Many of these migrants were dumped without a plan in place to monitor and house them for the long term,” said another.
Furious Chicago residents who overwhelmingly voted for President Biden in the last election have spoken out angrily over the hundreds of migrants brought to their neighborhood
A man has asked why a leader would put ‘black communities’ at risk by placing unchecked non-taxpayers within walking distance of the elderly, children and their homes
Another woman claimed the communities were ‘at war’, claiming their rights were being violated in the community
Residents are particularly upset with plans to house migrants in the school, complaining about security and a lack of consultation.
“Why would a leader further endanger our black communities, already riddled with crime, by placing unchecked non-taxpayers steps away from our elderly, our children and our homes that we have worked so hard to secure? ?” asked another furious resident at a press conference.
“Our communities are at war. They violate our communities. We ask and demand to deal with issues like this,” one woman said.
“Politically to have over 500 people in our community would completely destroy any interest we have,” another explained.
In the 2020 election, 97% of Chicago’s South Shore residents voted for Biden, many of whom are now vehemently protesting the massive influx of migrants after Title 42 expired.
Earlier this month, residents crowded into an auditorium and bombarded local officials with similar complaints.
“How could you do this without consulting us? replied one resident.
“Build the wall. Make a border,” shouted another.
South Shore, Chicago voted for Joe Biden in 2020 by a whopping 97%
Here is how locals react to the arrival of 250 to 500 migrants in their area: pic.twitter.com/X4lbibdStV
— End of Wokeness (@EndWokeness) May 12, 2023
“Politically to have over 500 people in our community would completely destroy any interest we have,” another resident explained.
A migrant couple from Venezuela sit with their children at the Brands Park playground in Chicago, Illinois
In recent weeks, migrants have overwhelmed police station halls faster than the city has been able to open shelters. Pictured are migrants at a Chicago police station
Nubia Willman, a town hall official, was booed by the crowd as she tried to defend the plans.
“What’s important is that we really establish that this is a humanitarian crisis, and we’re there,” she said.
“While this crisis may constitute an emergency for the City of Chicago, it is not an emergency for the South Shore community,” Alderman Michelle A. Harris said.
The lawsuit came just days after Mayor Lori Lightfoot declared a state of emergency over the arrival of migrants in Chicago, which she said had reached “breaking point”.
“We have no more room. I can’t stress that enough,” Lightfoot said.
Lightfoot, who made history as the first black woman and first gay person in the main city, served her last day in office on Friday.
Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson will take over running the city on Monday.
On Monday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott told Lightfoot that he would not stop ferrying migrants from North Texas to Chicago.
Carlos Alvarado, Miguel Lopez and Diego Perez, who are from Venezuela and heading to Chicago, wait for a bus after being handled by US Border Patrol after crossing the border from Mexico on Wednesday
Natasha Dunn, J. Darnell Jones and ‘South Shore Neighbors’ are the plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed Thursday in county court against the city and Chicago Public Schools, according to Block Chicago Club.
“Members of the Black Community Collaborative, constituents and stakeholders on the South Shore are extremely dismayed by the failure of the City of Chicago to control and develop safe parameters around the housing of migrants who have been transported here. from the border,” Dunn said at a news conference Thursday.
Attorney Frank Avila also spoke at the conference. “We want refugees, asylum seekers and migrants to come in, but we have areas across the city where they can go. Not centralized in one community,” he said.
“There has to be community participation and community input,” Avila said.
“If we’re talking about migrants and asylum seekers who came from violent nations, who came from war, who came from poverty, why are we putting them in an area where they can be even more traumatized?”
A number of residents said the migrants should be moved to a facility on the north side – a sentiment shared by Jones, a plaintiff in the lawsuit.
‘Why not Pilsen, Belmont Cragin, Logan Square, Little Village, South Chicago, South Deering or Hegewisch? Communities that have a supportive cultural infrastructure? said Jones.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot is pictured declaring a state of emergency on Tuesday over the arrival of migrants in Chicago
Since August, more than 8,000 people have been bussed north to Chicago from the border. In recent weeks, migrants have overwhelmed police station halls faster than the city has been able to open shelters.
The statement that the city is in a state of crisis comes as Lightfoot nears the end of his term. On Monday, new Mayor Brandon Johnson will be sworn in and inherit a problem that Lightfoot herself has said is likely to get worse.
Earlier this month, Lightfoot pleaded with Texas Governor Greg Abbott to stop ferrying migrants to North Texas.
In the letter posted to Twitter on Sunday, Lightfoot urged Abbott to reconsider “this dangerous and inhumane action.”
She said she sympathized with the Texas border towns dealing with the problem, but said it would not be solved by shifting responsibility to other towns.
