A Democrat-run city’s police have reportedly made more than 1,000 arrests of Venezuelan nationals in the first three months of 2024 amid a massive outrage over additional money to feed and shelter migrants.
There were 609 arrests for driving/traffic offenses, nine violent felonies, 75 violent misdemeanors and 313 other offenses listed as non-violent, with nine others listed as unknown or not listed, according to analysis of Chicago crime and arrest data by The Chicago Tribune.
The data is limited to adults arrested by Chicago police and does not include juveniles or anyone arrested by another agency. The arrest data also does not say when those Venezuelan nationals arrived or their immigration status. The Tribune found that Venezuelans are less likely to be accused of violent crimes, including homicides.
OUTRAGED RESIDENT WARNS WHAT $70M MIGRANT FUNDING WILL DO TO SANCTUARY CITY
Chicago police have arrested more than 1,000 Venezuelans in the first three months of 2024. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
The report comes as there are continued signs of agitation and anger at the migrant influx and the response by local government officials to it.
The Chicago City Council recently voted 30-18 to approve a request made by Mayor Brandon Johnson for an additional $70 million in order to help deal with the ongoing migrant crisis. That money is on top of a $150 million assigned to migrant care in the budget already. According to Johnson’s office, the city has at its peak been dealing with more than 2,000 migrants coming in a week. Nearly 40,000 have arrived since August 2022.
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Mayor Johnson’s office said the funding request was to ensure the city is prepared “should there be any sudden increases in new arrivals sent by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.” The city aims to provide “basic necessities” including food, shelter, medical care, education, vaccines, case management and resettlement support.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson gives an update on migrant issues at City Hall on Jan. 29, 2024 in Chicago. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Abbott has bussed migrants to multiple “sanctuary” cities that do not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement, saying that they should bear the brunt of a national migrant crisis he believes they have encouraged with their policies.
The U.S. has been in the grips of a migrant crisis now into its fourth year. Last fiscal year, there were more than 2.4 million migrant encounters at the southern border. The knock-on effects in cities across the country are having significant political implications.
CHICAGO CITY COUNCIL APPROVES $70M FOR MIGRANT CARE DESPITE VOTER BACKLASH
In Chicago, the council meeting to approve the extra funding was accompanied by significant backlash by residents who say the money should be being spent on the community itself rather than migrants.
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“The main objection is that there seems to be no end in sight,” activist P Rae Easley told Fox News Digital in an interview last week. “Every three or four months, there seems to be some new vote for a massive amount of taxpayer funds to be allocated to the illegals, and we have to put a stop to it, or it’s going to bankrupt our city.”