Illinois NAACP conference president under fire for video saying migrants are ‘like savages’
WLS, PATRICK WATSON, ILLINOISNAACP.ORG, CNN
By Andy Rose and Whitney Wild, CNN
(CNN) — Teresa Haley, the top official of the Illinois NAACP is under fire from the state’s governor and others after a leaked video call with NAACP leaders around the state appears to show her comparing recent migrant arrivals to “savages” and saying “they’ve been raping people.”
Asked about the recording Tuesday, Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker called the comments “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,” according to CNN affiliate WLS.
In a recording of the Oct. 26 call released by Patrick Watson, the former DuPage County, Illinois, branch president for the NAACP, Haley, complains that incoming migrants are being treated more favorably than Black residents in need. She made the comments after another caller began discussing the topic of migrants.
“Black people have been on the streets forever and ever, and nobody cares, because they say that we’re drug addicts, we’ve got mental health issues,” Haley said in the video. “But these immigrants who 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.”
She added, “it’s the N-A-A-C-P. What do those letters mean to you? What does it really stand for? Yes, we can stand up for other people, but what are we doing for our own?”
Watson said he resigned after recording that video conference call with other branch presidents.
WLS reported they reached Haley by phone while she was on vacation in Dubai, and she denied making the comments. When told there was a recording, Haley said, “With AI, anything is possible,” according to the station.
The new DuPage County branch president, Michael Childress, told WLS that Haley’s comments were taken out of context.
“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,” Childress told WLS.
CNN reached out to Haley, the Illinois NAACP, and the national NAACP for comment Wednesday, but has not heard back.
The controversy comes at a time of tensions over migrant arrivals in Chicago. According to city data, more than 25,700 migrants have arrived in Chicago since the end of August 2022, with the majority arriving in the city since May of this year.
Chicago officials have struggled to keep pace with the surge. Since the summer, the city has since teamed up with 17 churches to temporarily house migrants. As of Wednesday, 575 migrants were housed at emergency staging locations, including police stations and airports, while people wait for shelter placement, according to the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications.
CNN’s Caroll Alvarado contributed to this report.
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