Horrified residents of a Chicago neighborhood called 911 when they saw migrants “breaking into” an apartment building – only to learn they had been let inside.
Videos shot from across the street showed dozens of people trying to enter a three-story building on Essex Avenue on Chicago's South Shore on Sunday.
The building's windows were boarded up during renovation, locals said, and a construction company's sign was placed on the door.
Footage showed the migrants, including children, standing outside the door as one of them tried to open it before they and many others who arrived later got inside.
Police radio communications intercepted by scanners showed officers responding to 40 to 50 burglars, the caller said.
Video shot from across the street showed dozens of people “breaking” into a three-story building on Essex Avenue on Chicago's South Shore on Sunday.
In a later video, crowds form outside the building after more people arrive on buses
However, later discussions revealed that the owner of the building “had allowed the migrants to stay there.”
Officials who were on the scene trying to disperse the crowd of migrants reacted with surprise before pointing out that too many were trying to get in anyway.
“Well there's not enough space for everyone who wants to come in here so we're trying to sort that out… that seems to be the problem, there are capacity limits,” one said.
The neighbor posted another video on Tuesday evening saying that truckloads of migrants had been dropped off outside that day.
Their video showed more crowds outside the building and a pickup truck with what appeared to be equipment parked on the street.
Later video showed more crowds outside the building and a pickup truck with what appeared to be equipment parked on the street
The building is owned by real estate developer Chris Amatore, who has bought, renovated and sold more than 600 buildings across the city.
However, since the immigration crisis began in 2022, he has focused on converting the buildings he owned into temporary housing.
“I have dedicated my life to housing the homeless Venezuelan asylum seekers in Chicago for the foreseeable future.” “To stand with them against the hate,” his Twitter bio reads.
Amatore said earlier this month that the company was funded by a significant windfall he made through investments in cryptocurrencies.
“I worship God.” I don’t worship money. “So I decided to use the money to do something good with it,” he told CBS.
The building is owned by real estate developer Chris Amatore (pictured), whose mission is to house homeless migrants in Chicago
Amadore with some of the 60 migrants he had housed in another building he owned
“Something like that went through my mind and I feel like I'm following God's plan and just trying to help.”
Amatore said he helped when he saw a refugee camp where “no one could shower and people were eating out of trash cans.”
He said the first building he converted into a refugee shelter had 60 beds in eight units and a second building he could use if Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson needed it.
It was unclear whether this was the second building, but it was a different location than the first one he opened to migrants.