A member of Chicago’s city council is protesting the proposed plan by Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) to create a tent city for migrants within her district. The comments from Alderwoman Julia Ramirez represent another break within Chicago’s political leadership with Johnson’s pro-migrant policies.
Ramirez said that she had not been asked about the plan to place migrants within her city district and rebutted conjecture that she had recommended the creation of a tent city within Chicago’s Brighton Park.
“When Mayor Johnson’s office announced plans for winterized base camps in September and asked alderpeople to submit locations in our wards that could support these temporary shelters, my office did not submit any locations,” she wrote in a letter.
“The mayor’s administration has been in direct contact with the property owner of the site at 38th & California, without looping in my office,” Ramirez continued.
Her comments come a week after she had to be escorted from the proposed site by Chicago police.
After being seen by residents, the alderwoman was confronted by a crowd, who called for the end of the proposed construction. City workers had been preparing the site for the potential tent city.
Migrant protest#Chicago never voted for a sanctuary city
Ald. Ramirez Monday:
"….be open minded and not buy into the fearmongering & false information spread by right-wing, anti-immigrant voices who wish to divide our city."Too late The Truth is outpic.twitter.com/3dnTMddzX5
— 💎Peace & Love Eternal💎 (@sampeaceamerica) October 19, 2023
The alderwoman said after the confrontation that she visited the site in order to “address misinformation being spread.” She further said that after talking to several protesters, she believed that they “did not want to engage in a peaceful dialogue with me.”
Ramirez claimed that an aide was injured in the scuffle.
The alderwoman later said that her “number one priority is finding workable solutions to our problems that allow us all to feel safe in our community and live peacefully alongside each other.”
The proposed tent city would reportedly house 1,600 illegal immigrants. Johnson announced the proposal in September.
A number of other members of Chicago’s political leadership have backed away from Johnson’s policies.
When the mayor asked the city’s aldermen for recommendations for the tent site, 75% of them did not respond.
