Residents in cities across the United States are justifiably upset that their recently closed facilities are now being used by illegal immigrants at no charge to the immigrants. Adding to the frustration, these taxpayer-funded schools, health care clinics, and community recreation centers in low-income neighborhoods have been shut down largely because of city leaders’ fiscal irresponsibility.

Many of these Democratic leaders were vocal in the media, criticizing Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) and others for not welcoming migrants into their states and cities, and therefore proclaiming their counties and cities as “sanctuaries” that would welcome illegal immigrants. As the Center for Immigration Studies explains,

“These cities, counties, and states have laws, ordinances, regulations, resolutions, policies, or other practices that obstruct immigration enforcement and shield criminals from ICE — either by refusing to or prohibiting agencies from complying with ICE detainers, imposing unreasonable conditions on detainer acceptance, denying ICE access to interview incarcerated aliens, or otherwise impeding communication or information exchanges between their personnel and federal immigration officers.”

The following are just four examples of these “sanctuary cities,” where residents are watching their schools, health care clinics, and community recreation centers suddenly being taken over by illegal, unvetted immigrants. Their cities are overrun by homelessness, crime, drug addition (especially fentanyl), and sex trafficking. It’s also important to note that some cities are now so overburdened that they are turning away illegal immigrants, and the problems are bleeding into overwhelmed suburbs as well.

Chicago

Democratic Chicago activist and pastor, Andre Smith, told Fox News that the immigrant crisis in the city is not the fault of Governor Abbott — as Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) has claimed — but Mayor Johnson’s. Smith was arrested in Woodlawn (a community of Chicago) when he stood in front of a bus full of immigrants who were being dropped off at a school where, as he said, kids were rejected from due to lack of funding. Smith said, “How do you think those children feel now?”

He went on to say, “We’re a nation of laws. …Every person that enters into our … nation, they have to follow the law. You can’t break the law … because someone decided … to call a state … a sanctuary state. … There’s a law that has to be passed.”

One Chicago woman explained, “This should not be on the backs of people here and draining our resources. I see a lot of wasted money because there’s no structure.”

Smith puts the responsibility at Mayor Johnson’s feet for Chicago’s crisis. He said, “I blame [Brandon] Johnson for continuing to silence the people, the registered voters, and not allowing us to vote whether we want a sanctuary city or not and telling people that there’s more than enough when there’s clearly not enough. This is a disaster. …When I become the next state rep, I’m going to make sure that we recall the mayor.”

During his interview, Smith stood in front of a health care clinic. As he described it, “This is a clinic where the [disadvantaged] people that did not have insurance, could not afford good insurance, they went here. This was a free clinic for … Brownsville. And it’s closed. So the seniors that could not make it over to the Cook County Hospital four miles away, they went to this clinic. Now it’s closed. Now migrants are there. So our parks, our schools, our clinics, and police stations have all become shelters for illegal migrants.”

Denver

The sanctuary city of Denver has 713,000 residents and has absorbed almost 40,000 migrants in a little over a year — more per capita than any other city in the United States. It is second only to New York in the total number of immigrants who have arrived since 2022, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Denver’s schools and hospitals are crowded and the homeless population has exploded. Public schools have taken in more than 3,000 students, and they do not have money in their budget to cover the mostly Spanish-speaking students. In addition, the city’s hospital has seen at least 9,000 immigrant patients within the last year which has cost at least $10 million.

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston (D) is furious that Congress hasn’t passed an immigration reform bill. However, he is experiencing the ramifications of being a sanctuary city, the Biden administration’s refusal to enforce immigration laws, and the administration’s refusal (until recently) to admit that the open border was a crisis.

Boston

Boston resident and law student Jill Jacobson explained on Fox News that not every state is obligated to undertake what Massachusetts has committed to. Currently, it’s the only state in the country that has the “right-to-shelter” law. They are legally obligated to provide housing that they don’t have due to their tight housing market under a law that’s existed in Boston for 40 years. Under it, state officials are required to quickly provide shelter and other necessities to homeless parents with children, pregnant women, and migrant families.

Jacobsen said, “It’s projected to cost almost a billion dollars to handle the migrant crisis. The average price of a one bedroom in Boston, Massachusetts has exceeded $3,000, and that’s for lifelong residents, which is why we’re seeing all of our shelters at max capacity and unfortunately incoming migrants being forced to sleep at places like Logan Airport.”

She went on to say, “It is morally hazardous to call this sort of behavior ‘compassionate,’ because you convince yourself that an open border immigration policy … is compassionate, because everyone deserves the American dream, for example. We live in a great country. I would hope that everyone gets the opportunity to contribute to it and be here,” Jacobsen explained. “It’s a great place. But the problem is when they arrive here they’re not getting the American dream. We do not have the administrative capacity to process work permits, we don’t have housing, they end up in really horrible conditions like sleeping in Logan Airport without showers or food, and it’s really, really cold in Boston, and they don’t have anywhere to go …”

San Diego

San Diego has seen a dramatic increase in sex trafficking due to the open border. San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond described the crisis they are facing on Fox News saying, “San Diego County is [among] the top 13 places in the country for trafficking and human trafficking.”

He said, “We’ve had over 83,000 migrants dropped off in the San Diego County over the last four months. It’s like 20,000 a month. And a lot of these people are being trafficked [after] being brought across the border. This is their payment to cartels.”

“Fox & Friends Weekend” host, Rachel Campos-Duffy added, “I have been to some of these detention facilities. It’s like a prison. No media, not even congressmen, are allowed to go in and see what’s going on. It just seems like they know what’s happening and they’re hiding it, and it seems so evil and so unbelievable.”

Republican Governors Assist Texas to Protect Southern Border

While many Democratic city and state leaders are complaining that they cannot afford to house illegal immigrants in their “sanctuaries” and are seeking aid and money from the federal government to bail them out, 25 Republican governors are standing by Governor Abbott as he continues to put up a border wall and wire. Many are even sending their states’ National Guard troops to help stop the flow of illegal immigrants.

The governors’ statement sufficiently explains why it is crucial that they — and all of America should — stand with Texas to defend their right to protect their border:

“President Biden and his Administration have left Americans and our country completely vulnerable to unprecedented illegal immigration pouring across the Southern border. Instead of upholding the rule of law and securing the border, the Biden Administration has attacked and sued Texas for stepping up to protect American citizens from historic levels of illegal immigrants, deadly drugs like fentanyl, and terrorists entering our country.”

“We stand in solidarity with our fellow Governor, Greg Abbott, and the State of Texas in utilizing every tool and strategy, including razor wire fences, to secure the border. We do it in part because the Biden Administration is refusing to enforce immigration laws already on the books and is illegally allowing mass parole across America of migrants who entered our country illegally.

“The authors of the U.S. Constitution made clear that in times like this, states have a right of self-defense, under Article 4, Section 4 and Article 1, Section 10, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution. Because the Biden Administration has abdicated its constitutional compact duties to the states, Texas has every legal justification to protect the sovereignty of our states and our nation.”

If national immigration laws are not enforced soon, let’s hope and pray that after this November’s election, under new leadership, the federal government will officially enforce a strong immigration policy described by the 25 Republican governors — where “sanctuary” statuses will become obsolete and immigrants will instead be welcomed into our country through a safe, efficient, and orderly process.

This article was originally published by The Washington Stand.