Residents of Chicago are furious following the city council’s approval of a $51 million migrant aid package at a time when their community is drowning in homelessness and crime.
According to Fox News Digital, despite “contentious debate,” the measure passed by a 34-13 vote.
“It’s just a mess here,” Chicago resident Andre Smith told “Fox & Friends Weekend.”
(Video: Fox News Digital)
“We have in Chicago $160 million that was spent for the migrants with no records, no plan. And now we’re fixing to spend $51 million that was passed at city council with no record, no plan for 500 migrants for 30 days,” he fumed. “That’s unheard of.”
In a statement, Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson called the funding “critical.”
“Chicago is facing a humanitarian crisis as individuals and families continue to be sent here and other Democratic-led cities across the country without regard for their well-being,” Johnson said. “My administration will do everything in our power to support these new arrivals as they work to rebuild their lives in the U.S. while still upholding our commitments to the residents of Chicago. This appropriation is critical to support our efforts to provide housing and services in the immediate future, and I will continue to advocate for additional state and federal funding for as long as needed.”
Chicago is drowning in migrantshttps://t.co/MRKtMCfrEt
— American Wire News (@americanwire_) May 24, 2023
Residents during Wednesday’s city council meeting spoke passionately against the spending, saying the money could be better spent on U.S. citizens.
“We have not gotten anything for our community and we are sick and tired of being sick and tired,” one woman stated. “Enough is enough.”
Earlier this year, Smith attempted to block buses of migrants and was arrested on a trespassing charge for his efforts. He, too, was at the meeting.
“How dare this mayor and city council have the guts to give migrants $51 million,” he told the aldermen.
From January to June, Chicago has already spent an estimated $102 million to address the migrant crisis, Fox News Digital reports. “Chicago has received $30 million from the Illinois government and $4.4 million from a FEMA Emergency Food and Shelter Program to assist the city.”
Black residents sue Chicago officials over plan to house illegal immigrants ‘without our permission’ https://t.co/1I3VGyosFb pic.twitter.com/hxdhGrBCG2
— Conservative News (@BIZPACReview) May 17, 2023
“There’s a lot of other people that’s on the radio and news. We are totally upset. We have dismantled. Our mind is discombobulated… it’s unheard of,” Smith told Fox News host Rachel Campos-Duffy. “Just imagine you’re at work and your boss give a blank check of $51 million to 500 people for 30 days. That business would be out of business.”
“When you look at all Memorial Day, we had 53 people shot in the city of Chicago, 11 killed. That’s just on Memorial Day weekend,” he continued. “So you can put that money to crime.”
Smith described the horrifying conditions under which some Chicagoans are living.
“We have homeless people just a couple of blocks away… there was a young lady that froze to death, got both of her legs amputated, both her arms amputated because she had no place to go,” he stated. “But you have a school and you put these immigrants or migrants, whatever you want to call it, that he had a free choice to cross the borders, but black people didn’t have the opportunity to cross the border.”
“They didn’t have that luxury to cross the borders,” Smith stressed. “They came over here in chains in the bottoms of ships. So this is a total disaster.”
“The fight will continue,” Smith vowed. “Going to jail or not, we’re going to fight.”
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