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Chicago Ald. Ray Lopez calls out Biden for not addressing migrant crisis

By
Updated  August 15, 2023 9:49pm CDT
Immigration
FOX 32 Chicago

Chicago alderman calls out Biden for not addressing immigration crisis

Chicago Alderman Raymond Lopez is pressing President Biden to do more to fix a "broken immigration system" that has seen an influx of asylum seekers bused into the city largely on the backs of taxpayers.

CHICAGO - On a day President Joe Biden was touting his trillion dollar-plus Infrastructure and Jobs Act at a plant that builds charging stations for electric vehicles, Chicago Alderman Raymond Lopez pressed the President to do more to fix a "broken immigration system" that has seen an influx of asylum seekers bused into the city largely on the backs of taxpayers.

"Quit talking about Bidenomics. Quit talking about all the great things you supposedly did for this state because I’m looking at 12,000 mouths to feed in my city alone that they have completely forgotten about!" Lopez told FOX 32.

The 15th Ward Alderman was the only Democrat during Tuesday's Cook County Party Slate 2024 Primary not to vote for the Biden/Harris ticket over what he describes as the administration’s failure to adequately address the crisis and spare taxpayers any further burden.

"There’s no one saying how much we’ve spent from July One and what we’ll go through until December 31st. I’m anticipating that bill will be another $120 to $150 million dollars," Lopez added.

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The alderman says the through-line in the current migrant crisis extends from Washington to Springfield, to Chicago.

"We know the buses keep coming in every day, and we know that we have a thousand people in police stations right now with no clear plan for what to do and no way of paying for whatever’s coming down the pipe."

Lopez maintains that under the Biden administration, too many asylum seekers remain in the country for an indefinite period of time ultimately deferring the legitimacy of their claims for asylum when deportation is the more prudent action.

Making matters worse, he says, there’s no one to shoulder the growing financial burden.

"We have a structural surplus built into the annual budget of $400 million dollars, of which $300 has been eaten away because of this migrant crisis, and it will only get worse the longer we wait to address this matter," Lopez said.