Chicago residents sue over plans to temporarily house migrants inside a ... trends now
Furious residents of Chicago have filed a lawsuit against the city after it announced plans to house illegal immigrants in a disused high school in the South Side.
The old South Shore High School is expected to become a temporary holding space for up to 500 migrants, but officials have not clarified for how long.
The lawsuit was filed after on May 4 hundreds of South Shore residents packed into an auditorium and bombarded local officials with criticism over plans to house the migrants in the school, complaining about safety and a lack of consultation.
'How could you do that without consulting us?' a resident said in response.
'I am concerned with safety in the area,' said another.
'Build the wall. Make a border,' shouted one resident.
Residents of Chicago have filed a lawsuit against the city after it announced plans to house illegal immigrants in a disused high school. Pictured is Natasha Dunn, one of the plaintiffs
The disused South Shore High School (pictured) in Chicago is expected to become a temporary holding space for up to 500 migrants
'When it comes to the total number of people at South Shore at any given point in time, it is fluid,' one local leader told a jeering audience last week when asked how many people it was likely to house. 'We would start with 250 to 500.'
Nubia Willman, a City Hall official, was also booed at as she faced the crowd. 'What's important is that we really establish this is humanitarian crisis, and we are here,' she said.
'While this crisis may constitute an emergency for the city of Chicago, it does not constitute an emergency for the South Shore community,' Alderman Michelle A. Harris said.
Many of those residents have now banded together and on Thursday a lawsuit was filed claiming the school had not been zoned for residential use and that residents were not properly consulted on the plans.
The lawsuit comes days after Mayor Lori Lightfoot declared a state of emergency over the arrival migrants to Chicago, which she said had reached 'breaking point'.
'We don't have any more space. I cannot emphasize that enough,' said Lightfoot.
On Monday Texas
