A new video shows the moment a progressive Chicago city councilman tried to stop a colleague from participating in a vote in the Sanctuary City, prompting him to resign.
Clip of the incident shows Carlos Ramirez-Rosa standing in a doorway of the city council office last Thursday before appearing to use his arms to physically block Emma Mitts from entering the chamber.
Mitts and other lawmakers took part in a vote on whether Chicago should receive sanctuary city status next year after the city was flooded with 20,000 migrants, sparking a crisis.
Meetings on whether to place the measure on the ballot are scheduled to continue Tuesday.
Tensions between the Windy City’s black and Latino communities have increased as Chicago struggles to care for the more than 20,000 migrants who have arrived in the past 14 months. Thousands of asylum seekers remain in police stations and airports as the local government runs out of space to accommodate them.
New video of the incident shows Ramirez-Rosa standing in the doorway of the chamber
He then appears to use his arms to physically block Mitts from entering the chamber
Democratic socialist Ramirez-Rosa, who served as Mayor Brandon Johnson’s caucus leader on the City Council, resigned from his leadership positions on the City Council.
His departure came after he was accused of “bullying” his colleague Ald. Emma Mitts during a special meeting to discuss the city’s sanctuary status referendum.
The city’s sanctuary status has been in place since 1985 and helps “ensure that undocumented residents are not prosecuted based solely on their immigration status.”
Ramirez-Rosa was tasked with rallying support for the mayor to reject the referendum challenge and reportedly attempted to prevent the measure’s proponents from reaching a quorum to vote on the proposal.
Chicago City Councilman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa has resigned from his leadership positions on the City Council after he reportedly tried to stop a colleague from participating in a vote on the city’s sanctuary status
The Chicago Black Caucus said the incident was “an unfortunate and direct reminder of the decades-long challenges that African American women on the City Council have had to overcome in our collective efforts to promote the upward mobility of our collective communities.”
In his resignation statement on Monday, Ramirez-Rosa said: “Because the position of group leader requires, in particular, the trust of our colleagues and because my actions have caused me to lose that trust, I have informed the mayor that I will resign from this position.” .
“In addition, I am stepping down as chair of the Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards Committee, effective December 1, to allow time for an effective transition,” Ramirez-Rosa said in a statement.
“I cannot undo the mistakes I made last week.” But I hope that we can rebuild the trust we have in each other as we move forward as a Council dealing with the important issues that affect Chicago.”
The Chicago Aldermanic Black Caucus had called for Ramirez-Rosa’s resignation, as had protesters outside his office on Sunday. The Black Caucus includes 20 of the council’s 50 members.
Black Mitts is the longest-serving woman on the city council. She has not yet commented on the incident
The meeting was to discuss whether the city should ask voters in March whether Chicago should remain a sanctuary city as it continues to be inundated with nearly 20,000 newly arrived migrants
The Windy City is struggling with over 11,000 migrants in shelters and 4,000 people housed in police stations and at O’Hare International Airport (pictured).
Black Mitts is the longest-serving woman on the city council. She has not yet commented on the incident.
“I think it’s imperative that we give voters the opportunity to have their opinions heard on this issue, especially when we’re talking about spending $255 million this year alone to care for 20,000 migrants.” said Ald. Raymond Lopez, who supports the referendum, told NBC Chicago.
Lopez and four other Latino council members also called for Ramirez-Rosa to resign.
Ramirez-Rosa and the mayor, however, argued that the city’s sanctuary status has nothing to do with caring for migrants and rather relates to cooperating with federal immigration laws.
“Our sanctuary city policy, which is a public safety policy, has absolutely nothing to do with this humanitarian crisis,” he said. “They didn’t do their homework.” “What they wanted was chaos, was demagoguery, and that’s what we got.”
Mayor Johnson told reporters last week that Chicago and other U.S. cities are bearing the brunt of responsibility for migrants. He is one of five mayors who are demanding help from the federal government in looking after migrants
The Chicago Sun Times reported that Johnson “simply couldn’t afford to stand behind Ramirez-Rosa after he was accused of physically assaulting Ald Emma Mitts.”
Like New York and other cities, Chicago has struggled to house asylum seekers and has slowly moved people out of makeshift shelters into shelters and, in the near future, into tents.
Mayor Johnson told reporters last week that Chicago and other U.S. cities are bearing the brunt of responsibility for migrants. He is one of five mayors who are demanding help from the federal government in looking after migrants.
“I have said from day one that the federal government must do more,” he said.
Chicago residents have spoken out against turning landmarks into shelters. Some even called on city officials to close city limits while Mayor Johnson quietly signed a $29 million contract with a security firm to build base camps for migrants.
The situation at the US-Mexico border is a concern for the Democratic president, who is seeking re-election in 2024. He is increasingly coming under fire from members of his own party who are struggling to cope with the growing number of migrants in their cities. Republicans claim Biden is lax on border security and allowing too many people into the United States.
He has responded by tightening rules at the border to curb illegal crossings and by offering work permits and other incentives to those who enter the U.S. legally – by applying for them in advance and arriving by plane.
Stunning images show hordes of migrants crossing difficult terrain and wading through the Rio Grande on their way across the southern border
The reason for the increasing number of migrants in these cities is complicated, but economic and climate-related difficulties in their home countries are the main causes. More and more families are coming and applying for asylum.
Some conservative-leaning states have sent migrants to so-called sanctuary cities like New York or Chicago, where laws are more favorable for non-citizens. But that alone doesn’t explain why cities are facing such increases.
In previous years, migrants were released upon arrival and picked up by nonprofit groups before typically staying with a relative already in the United States. But the nationality of the people arriving has changed, and many no longer have anywhere to go.
Obtaining asylum is a long and difficult process through a heavily overburdened immigration court system. In some cases, migrants can wait up to a decade for a court date. They are released to the USA to wait. Some are authorized to work, but such authorizations are severely delayed. There are also concerns that granting too many work permits will encourage more people to make the dangerous journey to the U.S. on foot. So thousands are in limbo, unable to work and sleeping in emergency shelters or government facilities.
Following earlier requests from Democratic mayors and governors, Biden has requested $1.4 billion from Congress to help state and local governments provide housing and services for migrants.