Biden administration needs to deter migrants: Chicago alderman

CHICAGO (NewsNation) — Democratic Chicago Alderman Raymond Lopez is urging the city’s Mayor Brandon Johnson and President Joe Biden to take more action to address the immigration crisis.

Lopez asserts the border crisis continues to worsen because people around the world believe there are free benefits associated with migrating to the U.S. He believes the current system is “unsustainable.”

“I think that we should immediately hear (asylum seekers’) claims, determine whether or not they have grounds for asylum, and if not, yes, we have to deport them,” Lopez said. “That’s what the law requires us to do. Otherwise, you’re just manipulating the process in a way that’s completely unfair and unsustainable.”

This comes after Lopez slammed Johnson on Wednesday during Fox News’s “Hannity” for not blaming the Biden administration for the “failure to protect and secure” the southern border. Lopez stated there’s no more “common sense” in the Democratic Party.

Fox guest host Kellyanne Conway asked Lopez how he felt about Johnson blaming Abbott for a 5-year-old migrant’s death in the city’s migrant shelter.

Lopez said while placing blame is nothing new for Johnson, he’s “blaming everyone except the person who needs to get the blame,” calling out Biden and Harris.

During the interview, Lopez said the U.S. needs to not only “secure the border,” but stop “the draw” which is allowing people to get “free benefits” being spread amongst migrants. 

He told NewsNation he doesn’t think migrants should be left to their own devices, as it could create more poverty and homelessness in U.S. cities, but there needs to be “some limits to it.”

“Maybe we don’t allow them to draw out the benefits as cash to do as they wish. We’re seeing not only are they buying things that it’s not intended for, but they’re also sending the money back to help fund more people to come into this country in the same manner that they did. And if you want to stop this process, you have to be able to end the magnet, stop incentivizing people coming here,” Lopez said.

Lopez added the Biden administration needs to start adjudicating asylum claims quickly and not let them linger for 10 years while lawmakers figure out who’s responsible for taking care of migrants in that time. Some asylum seekers have been processed; however, their dates for asylum to examine where they’re eligible isn’t until 2031.

Meanwhile, Lopez is among several Chicago lawmakers who are unseat with Jonson’s response to the immigration crisis.

On Dec. 6, Lopez ,along with Democratic Alderman Anthony Beale, and independent Anthony Napolitano sent Johnson a letter Wednesday demanding the resignation of department officials who were responsible for a failed winterized tent camp for 2,000 immigrants, the Washington Examiner reports.

This week, Illinois announced it halted construction for the camp after toxic chemicals were found in the soil of the tent site.

Lopez had been a leading voice in blasting the Johnson administration’s response to the immigration crisis, according to the Washington Examiner. This fall, Lopez announced he will run for Congress to upset Rep. Chuy Garcia.

Since August 2022, nearly 27,000 immigrants have arrived in Chicago.