By Illinois Review
On Wednesday, President Joe Biden made a fundraising stop in Chicago – host city for the 2024 Democratic National Convention and claimed that President Donald Trump poses the real threat to our country – and not the dangerous illegal immigrants that continue to cross into our country every single day through our open southern border.
During his 16-minute speech in front of a small crowd at the Palmer House Hilton in downtown Chicago, Biden said,
“He [Trump] said the biggest threat, the biggest threat, is these criminals coming across the border. Well, folks, the biggest threat is Trump and what he poses for our democracy.”
The crisis on the southern border – a crisis that was created under the Biden administration, is raising legitimate national security concerns as the U.S. Customs and Border Protection are reporting that an estimated 151 individuals on the FBI’s terror watch list have been caught trying to cross into the United States illegally in 2023 –representing an all time high along the southern border as Chicago politicians scramble to address the migrant crisis now plaguing the city.
Since the terrorist attack in Israel on October 7th, Republican lawmakers in Washington have sounded the alarm that President Biden’s open border policy is leaving the U.S. vulnerable to another attack – this time on U.S. soil. Some lawmakers are even alleging the possibility of Hamas terrorists and other cells entering the U.S. through the wide open southern border. National security experts on both sides of the aisle acknowledge the safety concerns with so many crossing into the country illegally.
Over the last year, streams of buses carrying illegals were dropping people off all over the city day and night, straining resources and forcing the city and state to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to address the surge. It’s estimated that nearly 30,000 migrants have arrived in Chicago since 2022, costing taxpayers more than $400 million to feed, clothe and house them, as legal residents in the south and west sides of Chicago struggle to put food on the table.
Since Biden was elected president, and his open borders policy went into effect, Chicago has seen an 11,000 percent increase in arrests of Venezuelan migrants. A string of burglaries are also popping up in the Chicagoland suburbs as migrants freely roam the streets. In some instances, migrants were filmed getting off buses wearing ankle monitors.
During Biden’s brief remarks in Chicago, the president also claimed that Trump’s presidency was mired in chaos, saying, “But look, chaos is nothing new for Trump. His presidency was chaos.”
But Biden’s presidency is the one that can be defined by chaos as the world falls apart under his watch. Since taking office, the chaotic withdrawal in Afghanistan left 13 U.S. service members dead as we left billions of dollars in military equipment for the enemy to seize; Russia invaded Ukraine and Hamas launched the deadliest terrorist attack in Israel’s 76-year history – killing more than 1,200 innocent civilians and taking more than 250 hostages.
And back at home, rioting, looting and Democrats soft on crime policies have destroyed our major cities – leaving residents and visitors in grave danger. Last year in Chicago, more than 225,000 high priority 911 calls went unanswered because of a police officer shortage – as Democratic politicians and allies of Biden have turned their backs on the police. And Biden’s economic policies have negatively impacted hard working Americans as the cost of groceries has gone up by nearly 40 percent in some communities across the country – forcing many citizens to look to food banks and shelters for help.
After the fundraiser, Biden was returning to Washington. The Democratic National Convention will be held August 19-22 at the United Center in Chicago.
