The U.S. migration crisis is a problem affecting many states and cities nationwide. New York and Chicago are some of the cities facing many difficulties during this period.
Since they identify as sanctuary cities, they have witnessed one of the highest surges in history over the past couple of months. Chicago became a sanctuary city in 1985 and is one of over 560 cities that are also sanctuaries.
Around 700 migrants arrive in Chicago per week, and this causes a lot of congestion in the city. The authorities also had no choice but to commandeer public facilities and parks to accommodate these newcomers.
About 300 immigrants are also living on the floors of Chicago police stations. These living conditions were so bad that some immigrants returned to their countries shortly after.
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Now, the residents of Chicago are furious with the authorities for letting it get to this point. They wanted to vote to revoke the city’s sanctuary status.
Why? This is because a lot of protection encourages migration to the city. As a sanctuary city, officials cannot ask questions about a person’s immigration status or reveal it to federal authorities.
Officials are also not allowed to arrest anyone solely because they are an illegal immigrant. Furthermore, the city will not cooperate with an investigation by immigration authorities unless ordered to by a court. The city also has to vote if they want their status revoked. However, the officers reportedly blocked its residents from doing so.
The residents also accused them of encouraging even more immigrants into the already cramped city. This comes after Mayor Brandon Johnson ordered his subordinates to prevent the matter from going to a vote.
POLL — Should the U.S. Government Create a Path to Citizenship for Undocumented Immigrants?
This caused an uproar among the residents, who were vocal about it. Alderman Anthony Baele, a city resident, spoke to a news agency, asking why Johnson blocked his bid.
“What are you scared of? To let the people have a voice? The truth? That’s all this question is asking, is to let the people have a say,” he said.
Thanks to this influx, the city has to compensate by spending a lot more on immigrants. According to reports, the city has spent about $300 million to cope with the newcomers since last year. It also spent about $1 million on a tent camp in Brighton Park to accommodate them properly.
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Sadly, this money went to waste as a soil test showed that the land was too poisonous to live on. Therefore, they had to move these people as soon as possible.
This caused many of them to get displaced and scattered across the city. As winter is here already, there is a significant cause for concern as the weather is unfavorable for the immigrants without shelter.
Therefore, the residents of Chicago are trying to vote out the sanctuary status to reduce the city’s burden and conserve its public spaces.
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