Chicago continues to take in migrants from the southern border, while its own Black population suffers from a variety of crises. In a controversial move, city officials voted to allocate $51 million to support the migrants, despite facing criticism from residents who accused them of neglecting Black communities. The decision has sparked outrage.
Black Chicago residents erupted in anger during a city council meeting on Wednesday, warning that city officials were prioritizing migrants over their own community. The heated statements came before the city council approved a whopping $51 million to support new migrants to Chicago. During the contentious meeting, residents scolded the city council for their ill-advised decision, stressing that the city is already overwhelmed with homeless and mental health crises within its own population, while struggling to hold off a sharp increase in violent crime.
This move has been precipitated by Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott who started bussing thousands of migrants from the southern border to the Windy City in August 2022. Since then, almost 2,000 have arrived in Chicago. Many residents at the meeting angrily questioned the rationale behind spending such an enormous sum of taxpayers’ money to support this migration program.
Caroline Ruff, the founder of Black Lives Matter Women of Faith, scolded the councilors saying, “We need to take care of our community, we need to take care of our Black community, we need to open up these schools for mental health. We have not gotten anything for our community and we are sick and tired. Enough is enough.”
The outrage in the community was further inflamed by the story of Andre Smith, a Chicago resident who witnessed a migrant bus and decided to intervene. He was subsequently arrested along with another individual. Smith insisted that the city must prioritize reparations to its own citizens over this misguided migrant funding.
Walt Kendrick, a Chicago resident and activist, was also present at the meeting, but he was heckled by the crowd for supporting the migrant funding.
It is ridiculous that border authorities recorded more than 2.3 million migrant encounters in the fiscal year 2022 at the southern border and more than 1.4 million in the first seven months of fiscal year 2023. This has now led to needless concerns among Americans in Chicago and across the nation, and it is clear that the city council’s decision to support migrants cannot be justified.
It’s a disgrace that the city of Chicago has chosen to prioritize the needs of illegal migrants over its own citizens. This decision raises serious questions about the city’s priorities and raises the specter of deeper divisions and animosity between different groups.
