Blind compassion allowing problems to fester among migrant asylum seekers Chicago alderman warns

By Ray Hanania

Chicago Alderman Raymond Lopez has always been on the cutting edge in the battle for truth. He was a courageous voice exposing the failings of former Mayor Lori Lightfoot and remains one of a handful of aldermen who believe the rights of Chicago residents belong above those of politics and politicians.

Lopez has never been shy to call out truth, a paladin who champions honesty.

On Wednesday, Ald. Lopez sent a letter to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson expressing concerns about the city’s incomplete policies on absorbing migrant asylum seekers, warning of growing problems that are not being addressed, addressing what many see is “blind compassion” in which the needy are helped but without caution.

It’s a problem many are discussing but few are willing to fully address in today’s polarized political world were truths become weaponized brawls that fuel ideological discord.

Lopez is in the middle, recognizing the need to help people, including migrants, asylum seekers and immigrants, but he is cautioning it must be done with respect for the rights of citizens. And it must be done with open eyes to the reality and the truth of what is happening, not what we hope for or by embellished political claims crafted to make things look better than they really are.

“It is with great concern that I write to you regarding the situations unfolding at centers and shelters serving the migrant asylum-seeking populations currently within the City of Chicago,” Lopez begins.

“Across this city, communities have been asked or told that they were going to be welcoming individuals shipped here from across the country. The compassion of our communities can unite us as a city during this episode in our history and ultimately makes us stronger. But first, we must acknowledge where we find ourselves in this moment.”

Lopez breaks down the existing 5,500 migrants in Chicago, with 1,40900 children, 2,300 single men and women in the South Loop Douglas Park, Gage Park, Woodlawn, and another 860 spread throughout Chicago Police Districts.

Instead of creating an environment of support, it is creating an environment of criminal tensions and conflict that many are ignoring, because the ugly truth is more difficult to swallow than the popular ideological lie.

“Over the past several months, there has been a significant uptick in illicit and illegal activities at all locations that warrants your immediate attention and action. Reports of migrant asylum-seekers participating in drug sales and usage, male & female prostitution and associated human trafficking, as well as gang recruitment have been witnessed by law enforcement and community alike,” Lopez warns bluntly, saying what others are afraid to acknowledge.

“Additionally, the level of disrespectful behavior towards Chicago residents by the migrant asylum-seekers is reaching a boiling point at locations where migrants joyfully ignore curfew, alcohol consumption, and other restrictions put in place at shelters for the benefit of those housed as well as the community. Migrant asylum-seekers are now using their vehicles to block streets, perform sex acts, and otherwise disrupt life in communities where this behavior wasn’t the norm. To make matters worse, residents now feel that their only recourse is to take action against the migrant asylum-seekers. This is not the time for vigilantism -it is the time for you to step up and act.”

Lopez calls on Mayor Johnson to “loudly and forcefully declare our communities welcoming” to migrants but to address the problems migrants are bringing the generous communities that host them, warning of a “rampant heroin problem” that is “exploding” in city shelters.

“Rather than prohibit this behavior, the Chicago Department of Public Health is willfully encouraging it by ensuring doses of Narcan (Naloxone) are available at all locations to avoid future opioid overdoses,” Lopez said.

Lopez said this could not only lead to the creation of “opioid dens” but worse, the growth of a new generation of street gangs, similar to the what plagued 1980s Los Angeles which opened a door to an influx of South American asylum seekers.

“Then, as now, the asylum-seekers evolved from clusters of people living together to roaming packs doing whatever possible to survive, including selling drugs and human trafficking. We know what the Los Angeles gang ultimately evolved into: Mara Salvatrucha, the MS-13,” Lopez noted.

“Now is not the time to allow our emotions to dominate the conversation about how best to proceed. We must recognize the facts, all the facts, this humanitarian crisis has created for both the migrant asylum-seekers and the native Chicagoans carrying this burden. Our faith commands us to help those in need just as it demands we separate the evil from the good.”

Which other public servant has the Chutzpah to tell the public the truth?

Click here to read the actual letter.

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Ray Hanania

Ray Hanania is an award-winning opinion columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.

His award winning columns can be found at www.HANANIA.COM Subscribe FREE today

Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.

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