Meet Chicago NAACP President Teresa Haley, who took things one step further in a leaked Zoom call from October, in which she likened immigrants to "savages, rapists and burglars."
"But these immigrants come over here, they've been raping people. They've been breaking into homes. They're like savages as well. They don't speak the language, and they look at us like we're crazy because we were the only people in America who were brought over here against our will, and were slaves.
"I'm tryin' not to be a ni**a but you know I'm pro-black, so, it's all about us, people. NAACP - what do those letters mean to you?"
"Springfield, Peoria, Bloomington, Kankakee, just get ready if you declared yourself to be a safe haven or a safe place for immigrants to come, because they are shopping around, and the busloads are coming," she said during a different segment of the tape.
"Black people have been on the streets forever and ever, and nobody cares," while the government is rushing to provide housing and other services to immigrants, she said.
Haley's comments drew harsh rebuke from Gov. JB Pritzker.
"Reprehensible remarks, I would hope that she would apologize for the remarks. I also think that people should recognize that immigrants to this country are all around us," he said.
Haley did apologize - but then after she was tracked down on vacation in Dubai by Chicago ABC station WLS-TV, she suggested it was a deepfake, saying "With AI, anything is possible."
Haley's comments sparked the resignation of Patrick Watson, who until recently was the president of the DuPage County branch of the NAACP.
"I think she should absolutely resign. I think she's unfit to be the president, the state president of the NAACP, someone that has that kind of sentiment and that kind of thought against migrant communities," he said.
And of course, the new branch president, Michael Childress, says Haley's comments were 'taken out of context,' adding "These comments are not indicative of what the NAACP stands for. But again, I'm not going to speak on behalf of Teresa Haley and say she should or shouldn't resign or things like that."
Chicago’s illegal immigrants are eligible to receive up to $9,000 in rental assistance under a newly introduced state-run program, which also provides funding to help furnish homes.
An estimated 68,440 homeless Americans are living on the streets of Chicago as of 2023, according to the Chicago Coalition of the Homeless.
Speaking to The Daily Beast Wednesday, Mr. Watson said the meeting between Ms. Haley and other NAACP state leaders took place on Oct. 26.
Ms. Haley had presided over the conference, he told the publication, adding that her comments amounted to "hate speech."
"The comments came up when some of the Chicago-based presidents started to talk about the migrant crisis, the funding that was going into neighborhoods, and they had differing opinions from my own. It's OK to have differing opinions," Mr. Watson said.
"They had different opinions about some of the resources that were going to the community, that resources weren't going towards individuals within the community, even though those resources are coming from different sources… That's OK to have a different opinion. But President Haley engaged in what I would call absolute hate speech."
Mr. Watson has resigned from the NAACP in protest of Ms. Haley's comments, he told the publication, adding that he believes Ms. Haley should also step down.
"But these immigrants come over here, they've been raping people. They've been breaking into homes. They're like savages as well. They don't speak the language, and they look at us like we're crazy because we were the only people in America who were brought over here against our will, and were slaves.
"I'm tryin' not to be a ni**a but you know I'm pro-black, so, it's all about us, people. NAACP - what do those letters mean to you?"
"Springfield, Peoria, Bloomington, Kankakee, just get ready if you declared yourself to be a safe haven or a safe place for immigrants to come, because they are shopping around, and the busloads are coming," she said during a different segment of the tape.
"Black people have been on the streets forever and ever, and nobody cares," while the government is rushing to provide housing and other services to immigrants, she said.
Haley's comments drew harsh rebuke from Gov. JB Pritzker.
"Reprehensible remarks, I would hope that she would apologize for the remarks. I also think that people should recognize that immigrants to this country are all around us," he said.
Haley did apologize - but then after she was tracked down on vacation in Dubai by Chicago ABC station WLS-TV, she suggested it was a deepfake, saying "With AI, anything is possible."
Haley's comments sparked the resignation of Patrick Watson, who until recently was the president of the DuPage County branch of the NAACP.
"I think she should absolutely resign. I think she's unfit to be the president, the state president of the NAACP, someone that has that kind of sentiment and that kind of thought against migrant communities," he said.
And of course, the new branch president, Michael Childress, says Haley's comments were 'taken out of context,' adding "These comments are not indicative of what the NAACP stands for. But again, I'm not going to speak on behalf of Teresa Haley and say she should or shouldn't resign or things like that."
Chicago’s illegal immigrants are eligible to receive up to $9,000 in rental assistance under a newly introduced state-run program, which also provides funding to help furnish homes.
An estimated 68,440 homeless Americans are living on the streets of Chicago as of 2023, according to the Chicago Coalition of the Homeless.
Speaking to The Daily Beast Wednesday, Mr. Watson said the meeting between Ms. Haley and other NAACP state leaders took place on Oct. 26.
Ms. Haley had presided over the conference, he told the publication, adding that her comments amounted to "hate speech."
"The comments came up when some of the Chicago-based presidents started to talk about the migrant crisis, the funding that was going into neighborhoods, and they had differing opinions from my own. It's OK to have differing opinions," Mr. Watson said.
"They had different opinions about some of the resources that were going to the community, that resources weren't going towards individuals within the community, even though those resources are coming from different sources… That's OK to have a different opinion. But President Haley engaged in what I would call absolute hate speech."
Mr. Watson has resigned from the NAACP in protest of Ms. Haley's comments, he told the publication, adding that he believes Ms. Haley should also step down.
