Chicago Dem Suggests City Totally Wouldn’t Have Become Migrant Sanctuary If They Actually Knew What It Meant

Democratic Chicago Alderman Brian Hopkins said Thursday on Fox News that Chicago would not have become a sanctuary city had they known what it would entail.

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has been sending migrants to “sanctuary cities” like New York City and Chicago, with Chicago authorities complaining Abbott’s program was causing “chaos.” Mayor Brandon Johnson previously passed an ordinance to impound and tow migrant buses that were violating new restrictions, which forced buses to drop migrants off at designated areas of the city.

Hopkins said the federal government has “dropped the ball.”

“We as a city, the municipal government of Chicago, are not equipped to handle this. We’ve never been equipped to handle this.”

Hopkins said the city asked the federal government last year to give funding and assistance amid the surge in migrants and that FEMA sent them off “empty-handed.”

“But with all due respect, didn’t leadership in your city say, ‘We are a sanctuary city. All are welcome?’ Wasn’t that the message?” Smith asked. (RELATED: Chicago Mayor Tells Residents To Make ‘Sacrifices’ To Benefit Illegal Immigrants)

“Yes. You’re not hearing that from me, you know. I think if we had to vote all over again on authorization for whether Chicago is going to be a sanctuary city, I’m not sure we would be. In fact, we tried to put a referendum on the ballot in March coming up to ask the voters, do you want to be a sanctuary city, and the mayor and his team blocked that effort,” Hopkins said. “So, we don’t know if there is political will to continue being a sanctuary city. But I will say this, our status as a sanctuary city first was established way back in the ’80s. This is not new. We put this flag in the ground a long time ago. No one at that time had any idea that it would lead to this today. This was completely unpredicted and it’s completely unprecedented, and nobody thought a sanctuary city would mean what it means.”

Hopkins said the border situation is a “bipartisan failure”  and there is “blame to go around.”

Chicago, New York City and Denver have asked the Biden Administration for more assistance in helping address the crisis such as asking for work permits, additional funding and more coordination between other state and local governments. Chicago in particular has received more than 30,000 migrants.

An October poll conducted by M3 Strategies found 46% of those polled said they don’t want Chicago to be a sanctuary city anymore, while 39% said Chicago should remain one. Fourteen percent of voters were unsure, according to ABC 7.