On Thursday, a Chicago suburb declared an emergency after just over 100 migrants arrived in their town, a press release reports.
According to the press release from the local board, a few dozen migrants arrived at the Village of Oak Park, and were in need of shelter amid cold temperatures. The migrants were “primarily living outside of the Chicago Police Department’s 15th District in the nearby Austin neighborhood,” the release read.
“The Village Board authorized $150,000 in funds for asylum seekers,” the release said, citing the Oct. 30 meeting in which the amount was decided. “Last month, the Village received an additional $150,000 in the form of a Supporting Municipalities for Asylum Seeker Services (SMASS) grant from the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus.”
Additionally, Village Manager Kevin J. Jackson opened an emergency operations center on Nov. 1 to help the migrants find shelter amid the lowering temperatures.
It wasn’t until Nov. 2 when the board determined that an emergency declaration was necessary in order to “provide additional aid and support to asylum seekers residing in Oak Park.”
Oak Park has worked with local faith-based organizations to help offer migrants translations and medical care, but local leaders have asked that the community halt donations of supplies and meals, saying, “Short-term plans are now in place to cover the needs of these asylum seekers until other accommodations can be secured.”
“Following the activation of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Wednesday, the Village’s emergency response plan to this situation remains in development. Once solidified, officials expect to put out a call to the community for ongoing support to address the needs of the migrant population,” the village board added in the press release.
In recent years, illegal immigration has spiked, and federal authorities have seen a huge surge at the southern border. The issue has become a significant concern for many voters, and prominent Democrats have begun pushing back on the Biden Administration’s inaction on the subject.
According to a review of fiscal year 2023 data, executed by the Daily Caller, 2 million migrants attempted to cross the southern border, and 1.5 million migrants entered the United States either after law enforcement apprehension or by running from authorities. The latter number is larger than the populations of 11 U.S. states.
