Residents of a Chicago-area neighborhood frustrated by the disruptive behaviors of illegal migrants at a local shelter sounded off to city leaders this week.
Neighbors said they "no longer [had] any tolerance" for migrants who were loitering, engaging in late-night partying, prostitution, littering and even fighting with community members, CBS2 Chicago reported.
Distraught residents told city officials in attendance that the migrants' behavior made them feel unsafe. "I would ask you all to go out there – go out there at night, in the middle of the night – and see what goes on," one emotional resident said. Another woman vented, "They disrespect us, they rob us, they harass us."
One local man threatened that if they didn't address the issue, neighbors would take it into their own hands. "Let me say this – they've got one more time to deal with it, because otherwise, next time they deal with it, they're going to deal with it from the streets. We're going to take over. Nobody is going to be able to stop us from what we're going to do to them."
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Neighbors in another Chicago-area neighborhood also rallied against the city this week after leaders announced plans to move migrants into a community gym.
"Definitely a slap in face. Definitely not taking into consideration what the community wants," Edgewater resident Greer Gilmore told CBS2.
Frustrations over the migrant crisis boiled over during a monthly immigration committee hearing on Wednesday, where aldermen accused Mayor Brandon Johnson's office of not doing enough to address the safety issues.
42nd Ward Ald. Brendan Reilly described how at one hotel housing 1,400 migrants in Streeterville, "There were about 60 kids, guns in their waste bands, consuming alcohol and smoking marijuana on the public right away, unchecked, and this is not a one time occurrence," the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
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Alderman Jeanette Taylor of Chicago's 20th Ward reportedly said Mayor Johnson's aides were hiding the grim reality locals were facing.
"Tell the issue about the people who are outside threatening [residents]. Tell them about the sex trafficking that’s happening. The drug dealing that’s happening," she said. "They’re outside smoking weed. They’re outside having whole parties right in front of the senior building. And the police are scared. Let’s be honest," she said.
She also blasted city leaders for not taking the crisis seriously enough to bring it up with Biden administration officials when they were in town on Monday to discuss the city hosting the 2024 Democratic National Convention.
"So y’all didn’t think with the (Democratic National Convention) here, nobody bothered about discussing with Biden (and his) administration about the conditions that we’re having with the shelters and the asylum-seekers?" Taylor said according to The Chicago Tribune.
"How? How when we're spending millions of dollars, and y'all brought this fancy presentation to make this sound pretty, and it's not. None of this is pretty. None of this is beautiful," she complained.
Alderman Ray Lopez of Chicago's Ward 15 also joined other alderman in calling on Mayor Brandon Johnson to address the "ongoing migrant shelter/center issues" in a public letter published Wednesday.
Lopez said his constituents and law enforcement have witnessed migrants participating in "drug sales and usage, male and female prostitution and associated human trafficking as well as gang recruitment."
Migrants have also been disrespectful to residents and communities by "joyfully ignoring curfew and alcohol consumption rules in shelters," he said.
He described the alarming behavior residents have witnessed from the migrants.
"Migrant asylum-seekers are now using their vehicles to block streets, perform sex acts and otherwise disrupt life in communities where this behavior wasn't the norm. To make matters worse, residents now feel that their only recourse is to take action against the migrant asylum-seekers. This is not the time for vigilantism — it is the time for you to step up and act," he demanded.
Mayor Brandon Johnson's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment addressing the backlash.
"We don’t want our story to be told that we were unable to house the unhoused or provide safe harbor for those who are seeking refuge here. Because there’s enough room for everyone in the city of Chicago whether you are seeking asylum or you are looking for a fully funded neighborhood," Johnson said in May.
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