Chicago Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot smiles during a press conference at the Rainbow PUSH organization, Wednesday, April 3, 2019, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nuccio DiNuzzo)
Chicago Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot said illegal immigrants are always welcomed to her city, even if President Trump is the one sending them there.
TRUMP DOUBLES DOWN ON PLAN TO SHIP MIGRANTS TO SANCTUARY CITIES
On Friday, Trump confirmed reports that he was seriously considering relocating asylum seekers who exceeded their 20 days in custody to Democratically controlled sanctuary cities nationwide.
Lightfoot, who was recently elected mayor, appeared on CNN and reaffirmed the sanctuary policies in her city.
She dismissed Trump as being “provocative” and told CNN anchor
Anderson Cooper that her city has been dealing with asylum seekers for decades. Trump's threats are “much ado about nothing.”
When asked if she agrees with Chicago’s departing mayor, Rahm Emanuel, about welcoming migrants under such circumstances, she replied, “Of course.”
“We have people who are routinely coming to this city. We have a whole infrastructure that’s built up to make sure that their rights are protected while the city of Chicago has, under the current administration, provided funding for various groups to help support asylum seekers and other people that are going through the immigration court system. I expect it will continue, if not expand upon, those kinds of resources,” Lightfoot said.
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“So you have no problem with the president of the United States using migrants, using undocumented immigrants as, in his opinion, a weapon against political opponents,” anchor Cooper said.
“No, no," she answered. "Look, don’t get me wrong. What I’m saying is I don’t think we should take the bait every time the president puts out a provocative tweet. What I think we need to do is make sure that we are being very clear and speaking our values.
"She continued: "We are a city that is a sanctuary city. We have immigrants from all over the world who call Chicago their home. They’ll continue to do that, and we’re going to continue to make sure that this is truly a welcoming community for those immigrants and we want them to come to the city of Chicago.”
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