As the City of Chicago continues to struggle to deal with the flood of illegal migrants showing up and demanding sanctuary and other resources, the city’s leaders have continued to seek places to set up emergency shelters for them. The latest effort is slated to be a “tent camp” erected in the Brighton Park neighborhood on the southwest side of the city. Construction work had already begun on a ten-acre parcel of land that has traditionally been available for public use, but that ground to a halt two days ago when local residents showed up and formed a human barricade to prevent construction equipment from moving into or out of the site. The protesters carried signs and waved American flags. After a few hours, the police were called and they removed some of the protesters, allowing the work to move forward. But the neighbors promised that they would be back and will continue to oppose this project. (CBS Chicago)

Construction has resumed at the planned site of a proposed migrant tent camp in Brighton Park, after neighbors opposed to the project tried unsuccessfully to stop the heavy machinery from moving on Tuesday morning.

It comes after a heated protest last week ended with an alderwoman running for safety.

As CBS 2’s Sara Machi reported, at least 30 protestors were at 38th and California with signs and American flags to oppose the migrant tent site coming to their neighborhood. Protesters temporarily blocked the driveway construction trucks use to enter the site.

This isn’t the first place where protests have broken out around migrant shelters in Chicago. And neither of the two remaining Republicans in the Windy City were reportedly in attendance, so this isn’t some sort of right-wing demonstration. These are the people from these neighborhoods who are fed up with the situation and are loudly criticizing Mayor Brandon Johnson’s handling of it, along with the City Council.

That simmering anger spilled over into actual violence this week when Alderwoman Julia Ramirez showed up and attempted to speak to some of the concerned residents. She was “swarmed” by the protesters and eventually physically attacked. One of her aides was taken to the hospital with minor injuries but is reportedly in good condition.

“I went knowing that I had the best intent that I have nothing to hide,” Ramirez said. “I’m going to be here for my community.”

Many demonstrators swarmed the alderwoman. Chicago police escorted her and an aide away.

She maintained that she was not aware of the construction until the same time her constituents found out.

Ramirez sounds very genuine and if she is to be believed, her constituents are unleashing their anger on the wrong person. She claims that Mayor Brandon Johnson cooked up the tent encampment idea on his own and she didn’t find out about it until construction began, just like the people in the neighborhood. She insists that she clearly told the Mayor that no parks or other public land in the 12th ward should be used for the development of migrant housing. No vote on the project was ever held and she said that when the mayor asked the Council members to submit suggestions for locations, she did not offer any space in her ward.

From the sound of things, Brandon Johnson is just flying by the seat of his pants and taking all of these actions under some sort of claimed executive authority. We’ve seen the same thing in New York and other cities and it hasn’t worked out well thus far. It sounds like Chicago is heading down the same path. Johnson needs to be putting public pressure on President Joe Biden to seal the border once and for all and start shipping these migrants back home. Of course, that will probably never happen while Biden is in office, so the battle lines will likely remain drawn as they are.