Talk about essential business!
Lori Lightfoot, the pro-illegal-immigrant mayor from Chicago, signed an executive order freeing up city funds undocumented residents after she was forced to respond to critics for disobeying a stay-at-home state mandate and getting a haircut.
She defended the haircut by saying she is the “public face” of this city and “on national media,” according to the Hill.
The mayor insisted that the stylist who cut her hair was well-protected and wore a mask and gloves.
The Hill pointed out that Lightfoot was criticized over the move. One city official took to Twitter to say that Lightfoot is “under no obligation to look good on national TV,” but she is under an obligation to follow and promote social distancing in order to save lives.”
Lightfoot also announced Tuesday that illegal immigrants in her city will have access to benefits during the coronavirus downturn.
She has been an advocate for illegal immigrants in the city. One of her first moves upon taking office was to order the Chicago Police Department to deny Immigrations and Customs Enforcement access to the city’s database, The Chicago Tribune reported.
Chicago was named the most immigrant-friendly city in the U.S. in 2019, New American Economy, a bipartisan research group, reported.
The National Review pointed out that illegal immigrants do not have access to the massive $2 trillion relief package that President Trump signed into law two weeks ago, and immigrant activists say that segment of the population was among the hardest hit during the pandemic.
“They have nowhere to turn for support,” Chicago Alderman George Cardenas said, according to the Washington Times.
The Tribune reported that much of the benefits were in place since Rahm Emmanuel was mayor. Illegal immigrants will be able to apply for a one-time grant for $1,000 and will be able to tap into city learning resources for students.
The city will also offer illegal immigrants access to its Small Business Resiliency Fund, the report said.
“As I said earlier today: this order is more than just an official decree, it is a statement of our values as a city and as Americans,” Lightfoot tweeted.
Many Twitter users agreed with Lightfoot to offer illegal immigrants some form of assistance. No doubt, the immigrant community has been badly hurt during the downturn, but one Twitter user took issue with Lightfoot for talking about “city values.”
The user posted a 2019 story from Newsweek about the city seizing and selling nearly 50,000 cars over the past few years over unpaid tickets.