'Don't give a damn about us': Chicago residents slam city administration over resources spent on migrants on 'Fox & Friends'
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: The January 12 episode of 'Fox & Friends' had Chicago residents Cata Truss and Sam Sanchez join co-host Lawrence Jones to talk about the local administration's struggle to house migrants as the poor and homeless of the city remain neglected in the middle of the harsh winter.
According to the Fox News report, almost 34,000 migrants have arrived in the city that has spent more than $156 million on their housing and care since October 2022.
As of 2023, the recorded number of homeless people in the city was over 6,000.
The struggle to access resources
The Office of Emergency Management and Communications in Chicago stated that over 300 migrants have been boarded onto warming buses while nearly 15,000 migrants are in shelters ahead of a dangerous drop in temperatures. There are hundreds more who still waiting for placement.
Truss questioned whether the homeless population of the city, who have stayed there longer, are getting the same level of attention that is being bestowed on the arriving migrants.
"I do have to wonder, are they going to provide those warming buses down on Canal Street, where the tents are located for the homeless, or down on Roosevelt, where tents are located for the homeless, or over on Division Street where tents are located for the homeless?" she asked.
Citing a $391 billion projected deficit for Chicago Public Schools to make her case for depleted resources, Truss blamed the border policies of the Biden administration for the crisis.
"What is needed is for us to stop the bleeding. What is needed is for us to cut the transportation to the borders. What is needed is for our mayor to say we have exhausted all of our resources, we have no money, we have no more space, we have no more resources for migrants," she said.
"And we have to stop at some point and say, right now we have enough. And at what point do we close the borders and help to fix whatever's going wrong in these countries that have those people fleeing here in the first place?" she asked.
'This will reflect in the next election'
Sanchez questioned the appropriation of funds for the migrants along the same lines as Truss, claiming that American citizens and migrants waiting for work visas for decades have been neglected in favor of the new wave of asylum seekers.
He mentioned that the current scenario would in all likelihood impact the way citizens vote, as the US has officially entered the election year.
"What the elected officials should realize (is) that some of these old migrants have been here for a long time, have children and grandchildren that are voting age. This is going to reflect on the next election, and I hope it does," he said.
Blaming both the federal and local administration, Sanchez stated, "The people are crying out and no one is listening, they are just not listening… we're supporting these people and voting (for) these people and they don't give a damn about us."
