Chicago is a sanctuary city, which means that it does not cooperate with the federal immigration authorities to help fight illegal immigration and coordinate the transfer of custody of illegal aliens to immigration authorities so that they can be deported. Now that illegal immigrants are flowing in in large numbers, however, the residents of the city are having second thoughts and freaking out.
Such could be seen in a recent video that showed a resident questioning the local government over the sanctuary city policy, asking, “I wanted to know if there is a capacity limit. And what is what is that limit if there is one? And what is why can’t we close the borders of Chicago or the state of Illinois in the border?”
Responding, the local official noted that Texas is responsible, in large part, for the Chicago illegal immigrant situation, saying, “I don’t know if there’s a limit. But I do know that when you are seeking asylum, you are granted protections from the US to not return. So that is a process that folks are going through when they come here, when they get their interview. And then the Texas governor sends them to Illinois, and specifically Chicago.”
The resident was obviously angered about the answer, snapping, “So they get to come once they do an interview with Texas, they get to come regardless of Texas says you’re an asylum seeker, you’re being persecuted. So you can leave your country and come here.”
Obviously trying to keep a lid on things before the meeting blew out of control, the local government official said, “Not everyone not Texas. This the federal government is the one that does the process around asylum seeking is Texas who was making the decision to send them to Chicago.”
Watch the video below, which End Wokeness posted and captioned, “Residents are now begging local politicians to “close the borders of Chicago” to stop illegals coming from Texas 96% of this neighborhood voted for Biden.”
Residents are now begging local politicians to “close the borders of Chicago” to stop illegals coming from Texas
96% of this neighborhood voted for Biden pic.twitter.com/WRkBZ4k67K
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) September 18, 2023
Describing the city’s sanctuary city policy and the mindset it leads to in a January of 2023 interview, Nubia Willman, Chicago’s chief engagement officer, said that the city shifted to a “welcoming” policy to affect a change in mindset.
Speaking on that, Willman said, “Under Mayor Lightfoot’s administration, we’ve really focused on using the word ‘welcoming,’ and that’s on purpose. Often when we think about sanctuary, it’s very much about protecting against the federal government, against ICE and whatever iteration of that is in the years past. ‘Welcoming’ is much more holistically facing. It’s really about embracing people, making them feel welcome. And so when we do that here in the city, it’s not just about protection from ICE or the federal government, it’s also about integration. It’s also about celebration.”
The Catholic Church has helped further that policy, with Rev. Larry Dowling, pastor of St. Agatha Catholic Church, saying, “It’s part of the mission of the church, in general, is to welcome everyone,” Dowling said. “ … The church has always welcomed those groups and in many cases, founded parishes around those particular ethnic groups. Most recently, the influx of the men, women and children seeking asylum, the church is stepping up to respond, to support these individuals, these families who are who are trying to reestablish themselves … . And really the essence of our faith is to care for those who are struggling, and by doing so, to share our gifts with them. That empowers us, as well.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video
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