The immigration crisis could “turn the state of Illinois purple,” local Chicago Democrats warned Mayor Brandon Johnson.
A National Review report on Monday spoke to several Democratic activists and candidates about the growing number of immigrants in the city. Cook County Board of Commissioners candidate Zerlina Smith-Members spoke particularly about using public funds to house immigrants instead of helping the homeless.
“We have people who have come here illegally, who have jumped the line,” Smith-Members said.
He also rejected Johnson's frequent attempts to blame Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for immigrants, noting that Chicago is a sanctuary city.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said Texas Gov. Greg Abbott was creating “chaos” by busing migrants from the southern border to his city. (Getty Images)
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“It's a Biden thing. It's a [Illinois Gov. J.B.] The Pritzker thing. It's a Brandon Johnson thing. They wanted sanctuary cities,” Smith-Members said. “It's not Abbott's fault, because he didn't ask for it. “We ask for it.”
And he added: “It's a lot and overwhelming.”
Peace activist Dr Lora Chamberlain similarly rejected the idea that Abbott was to blame.
“Which state could take in millions of refugees?” she asked.
Others pointed to growing resentment among that African-American community over preferential treatment of immigrants.
“The reality is, if you look at Chicago now, you have high unemployment rates among young African-Americans in particular, you have a lack of mental health services in Chicago, there were already thousands of homeless people in Chicago who were never homeless, some have focused the way they do on immigrants,” said South Side activist Tio Hardiman.
Local activists criticized the emphasis on immigrants over the African-American community. (KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
“I'm not against them living their lives,” Hardiman added. “It's creating too much competition among poor people in Chicago who have never, ever received this level of support. Never, ever.”
Hardiman said Johnson's policies on the issue have “really put him off.”
“If I were mayor right now, I would make an executive decision to end the sanctuary city [status] “In Chicago,” he added. “I would get rid of it because we are not prepared to deal with it.”
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The National Review reported that Smith-Members is trying to launch an impeachment against Johnson over the immigration crisis.
“There's a divide in our Democratic Party. It's weakened. It's going to get worse,” Smith-Members said. “Voters in the city of Chicago have woken up. Voters in the state of Illinois have woken up. And they don't support our old leadership.”
Smith-Members is reportedly driving efforts to recall Mayor Johnson. (Jamie Kelter Davis/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
She declared: “The immigration crisis is going to turn the state of Illinois purple.”
The mayor's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
According to figures reported by local ABC affiliate WLS, more than 35,000 immigrants arrived in Chicago in the last year and a half.
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