A prominent Chicago activist has called on Donald Trump to “come here and clean up this mess,” denounced the influx of migrants and called on authorities to “send them all back.”
George Blakemore, 81, has attended every public meeting he could over the past 40 years, from the City Council to the Chicago Board of Education to the Water Reclamation District, Block Club Chicago reported.
Earlier this month, Blakemore spoke out against Chicago's current policies toward migrants at a City Council hearing on whether Chicago should receive sanctuary city status in March.
More than 26,000 migrants came to Chicago by bus and plane last year, and about 14,000 of them are currently in emergency shelters. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has sent migrants from his state to Democratic-run cities in the north to pressure Joe Biden to act. Cities are struggling to cope: A 5-year-old boy died in a freezing and damp shelter in Chicago on Sunday, and many are sleeping in the lobbies of O'Hare Airport or police stations.
Blakemore, who is Black, said the situation was untenable.
George Blakemore, 81, is pictured Dec. 14 speaking at a Chicago City Council meeting about whether revoking sanctuary city status should be put to a vote
Blakemore has attended public meetings in Chicago for 40 years and has become known for his views
“I am against illegal immigrants,” he said at the Dec. 14 meeting. “Send them all back across the Rio Grande.”
He shouted, “We are the only people in America who were enslaved.” We didn't come around and wait and look for something. When we came, we built this country on the foundation of free labor.
“To see another group come here — that’s a disgrace, that’s un-American.”
He asked the council: “What about the black children?” The black workers? They are competing with us.'
Blakemore continued: “I am a strong advocate for black people. “Call ICE.
“Trump, come in here and clean up this mess.” “The most corrupt city in the United States is the city of Chicago.”
Another activist, who gave her name as Lorraine Lawrence, agreed with Blakemore.
“I’m not for the sanctuary city,” she said. “People have been waiting years to come here legally.” Don't just come in on the buses. That's ridiculous.
“The West Side and South Side black communities were earmarked for funding but never saw it.”
She added: “Is it fair to these communities who have been waiting for years?”
Lorraine Lawrence said she opposes the sanctuary city declaration because she believes it is unfair
Nelly Musajeva, a neurobiology student at Dominican University, called for the current policy to be maintained
But others said the current sanctuary city status should be maintained.
Nelly Musajeva, a neurobiology student at Dominican University, said she is undocumented and said it would be wrong to expel law-abiding citizens like her.
Miwa Shimokogawa, a graphic designer and activist with Asian Americans Advancing Justice, said the sanctuary city designation made everyone safer.
“It will sow further distrust between communities of color and police,” she said. “In the meantime, stopping buses from the south will do nothing.”
Council members then voted on whether to include in the March primary the question: “Should the City of Chicago continue to maintain its sanctuary city designation?”
They voted 31-16 against putting the question before voters.
Mayor Brandon Johnson had ordered his deputies to reject an attempt to put the controversial Welcoming City Ordinance to a referendum – and in November his caucus leader was forced to resign over opponents who tried to gain access to an earlier vote on the issue. physically blocked.
Councilman Anthony Beale, who is trying to get the question on the ballot, accused his opponents of being afraid of the facts.
'What are you scared of? Give the people a voice? The truth?' he asked after the vote.
“That’s all this question asks, is to give people a say.”
Councilman Anthony Beale accused Democratic leadership of cowardice when his attempt to put sanctuary city status to a public vote was defeated 31-16 in the council chamber
Mayor Brandon Johnson ordered his deputies to reject an attempt to put the controversial Welcoming City Ordinance to a referendum in Chicago's March primary election
The migrants, who have arrived in the city since August last year after crossing the Mexican border, have sought shelter in parks, police stations and the city airport
The city expects to spend $300 million this year to deal with the more than 24,000 migrants who have arrived in the city since August last year after crossing the Mexican border.
It spent nearly $1 million on a tent camp in Brighton Park before tests showed the ground was too toxic to live, and more than 3,000 migrants are still waiting for shelter as Arctic winter temperatures begin to turn biting.
City authorities have faced intense backlash from residents as parks and public facilities have been commandeered to accommodate the new arrivals, 700 of whom are still arriving each week.
About 300 people still live on the floors of Chicago police stations, and conditions across the city are so bad that some have decided to return to South America.
Sanctuary city status means city officials are prohibited from asking questions about a person's immigration status or disclosing it to federal authorities.
Police in the city are not allowed to arrest someone solely because they are an illegal immigrant, and the city will not cooperate with immigration investigations unless ordered to do so by a court.
More than 560 cities, states and counties in the United States have declared themselves protected areas, and Chicago adopted this status in 1985.
Stunning images show hordes of migrants crossing difficult terrain and wading through the Rio Grande on their way across the southern border
O'Hare International Airport housed hundreds of migrants in a restricted area as the crisis gained momentum this summer
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 more than 26,000 newly arrived migrants
But fears are growing for the thousands of migrants still without shelter as temperatures drop and Chicago's bitterly cold winter begins to break
Sanctuary cities have been a favorite target of governors on the southern border, busing thousands of migrants north to them as the migration crisis gained momentum.
Johnson was among five Democratic mayors who traveled to D.C. to ask the Biden administration for $5 billion in federal funding to address the problem.
“Our cities need additional resources well beyond the proposed amount to adequately care for the asylum seekers coming into our communities,” they wrote.
“The dependence on municipal budgets is unsustainable and has forced us to cut essential city services.”
Johnson accused his opponents of “malice” and claimed a public vote on protected status would do nothing to address the burden of migrants.
“This is a crisis and as I said, it is not going away because people are angry,” he told reporters after the Dec. 14 vote.
“Unfortunately, there are people who have used this as a means to implement his nastiness.
“This kind of meanness has caused the kind of strife we are seeing now.”
But Beale accused the mayor of cowardice.
“It’s a shame that you’re all scared,” he told the city council meeting.
“Are we afraid that people will tell us that we are spending money carelessly on this board?”
“Are we afraid that people will tell us we’re going in the wrong direction?”
“I thought you all had something up your sleeves, but let me just say it's a shame.”