Chicago Looking to Send Illegal Migrants to Missouri Amid Growing Immigration Crisis
Chicago is reportedly looking into the possibility of exporting illegal border crossers who landed themselves in the Windy City to St. Louis, Missouri amid growing concerns that the migrants will place greater stress on already-struggling communities.
St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones created the “Office of New Americans” to assist in the illegal migrant resettlement process and “to bolster St. Louis’s workforce and stem its population decline,” according to a report from the Chicago Sun-Times. The surge in illegal immigration has overwhelmed several major metropolitan areas over the past two years following border states’ decision to bus asylum-seekers to self-declared “sanctuary cities,” including Chicago.
Chicago Sun-Times also reported that the International Institute of St. Louis, a non-profit organization, has approached Chicago’s city council with resettlement proposals to move migrants from the Windy City to Missouri.
“It could be the potential for a great relationship between both cities,” the vice president of Latino outreach for the International Institute, Karlos Ramirez, told the outlet. “If the [migrants] are going to be in a better place, St. Louis is going to be in a better place, and Chicago is going to be in a better place. I think everybody wins.”
Chicago Sun-Time also reported that the program could be “primarily” funded by private donors and organizations, and could provide cellphones, housing, and job placement to illegal border crossers.
Minority residents living in Chicago have voiced their concerns regarding the city’s decision to prioritize the migrants, even stating that they are “sick and tired” of schools and other infrastructure in impoverished areas being used to shelter the new arrivals. More than 19,000 illegal immigrants have arrived in the city since August 2022, with many more arriving in New York City almost daily.
Chicago has reportedly created more than two dozen temporary shelters to accommodate the immigrants, but despite the city’s efforts, thousands are still sleeping at or around police stations, at public parks, and on the streets.
In 1985, then-Mayor Harold Washington coined the “Don’t Ask” policy, barring city authorities from inquiring about an individual’s citizenship status. The policy closely resembled a Berkeley, California policy which was enacted in 1971, making it the first municipality in the nation to offer refuge to illegal migrants.
Since the 1980s, several cities and states around the U.S. have declared themselves “sanctuaries” where migrants can live without fear of federal deportation authorities. Despite their purported good intentions, these policies have largely backfired over the past year, as governors in border states began shipping illegal migrants to these locations, attempting to ease the strain of illegal immigration on border communities, while simultaneously bringing national attention to the crisis on the southern border.
