(Corine Gatti, Headline USA) Chicago’s South Side residents slammed local leaders during a community forum for setting up a hotel shelter to care for illegal immigrants pouring into the city because of President Joe Biden’s dysfunctional border policies.
Amid growing discontent from the influx of illegals, hundreds of residents voiced their dissatisfaction with officials over the level of services the city was providing to current residents, particularly in predominantly black areas of the city. Those in attendance in the deep blue state cried foul over re-establishing the Lake Shore Hotel in the Hyde Park area of the city.
Issues brought up during heated meeting included residents questioning city officials if immigrants would be vaccinated and fingerprinted, how children would be educated and whether migrants were being housed in other parts of Chicago, the Gateway Pundit reported.
Other residents accused leaders of being insensitive towards the concerns of locals who were worried about an increase in criminal activity, as well as traffic and parking issues. Furthermore, they were concerned about the maintenance and upkeep of the areas where the migrants would be staying.
Adrienne Edwards asked who residents should hold accountable for the criminal activity from immigrants, as Chicago Democrat Mayor Brandon Johnson has refused to condemn criminals and instead condemns people who want to keep them accountable.
“There’s been a lot of experience with disturbances in our communities,” she said. “(Our) current experience is totally different from the bullet points you’ve given us,” the Chicago Tribune reported.
“I don’t want them there! Take them someplace else or send them back to Venezuela I don’t care where they go,” resident Doris Lewis declared during the community meeting. “This is wrong. You got 73% of the people that are homeless in the city are black people, what have you done for them?”
Another person who attended the forum said he’d passed homeless people sleeping on his way to the meeting. “Will they have access to these facilities?” he asked.
Chicago has been receiving waves of migrants since last year, and there was disagreement on where to house them. The South Shore and Woodlawn neighborhoods are resisting the city’s plans to use closed high schools. Some migrants have been sleeping on the floors of police headquarters while being transferred between stations for events like the Lollapalooza festival.
As early as Friday, hundreds of migrants would be moving in despite the overwhelming response from residents. Currently, 1,900 migrants are waiting for placement, with many living at O’Hare and a few at Midway, according to published reports.
