by Elyse Apel
The Office of Global Michigan is encouraging “everyday Americans” to volunteer to house illegal immigrants and “make a difference by welcoming refugees from around the world.”
“Volunteers [are] needed” to “support refugee resettlement efforts in Michigan,” says the office’s website, which was recently launched by the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Development.
The initiative comes as states around the nation struggle to house the millions of illegal immigrants flooding the nation — leading many state governments to take unprecedented and fiscally irresponsible steps to try to address the situation.
With the lack of regulations or oversight for those entering the United States, these moves to house illegal immigrants with residents aren’t just unwise, they threaten the safety of everyone involved.
A Migrant Wave Like Never Before
U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported that it has apprehended 169 individuals whose names appear on the terrorist watchlist, arrested 35,433 illegal immigrants with criminal convictions or outstanding warrants nationwide, including 598 known gang members, and seized 27,293 pounds of fentanyl, which is enough to kill more than 6 billion people, at the southern border in just fiscal year 2023.
In a five-day period in December, Border Patrol processed and released nearly 50,000 illegal immigrants into the United States, according to data obtained by CBS News. During that month, 300,000 migrants, or enough to fill the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, crossed the border.
That number doesn’t account for so-called gotaways, or illegal immigrants who don’t encounter Border Patrol agents. According to the Washington Examiner, there have been at least 1.6 million gotaways since President Joe Biden took office, the majority of whom are “single, military age men.”
These massive numbers of largely unvetted illegal immigrants are a safety concern, especially when a program is encouraging citizens to allow migrants into their homes.
It’s even more concerning that just last week, published emails between journalists and Department of Homeland Security officials revealed that the federal government is not tracking the movements of illegal immigrants once they are released into the country.
“It is hard for us to be able to answer that,” the official wrote in response to a question about the movements of migrants.
Michael Chamberlain, the director of Protect the Public’s Trust, spoke to Just the News about the emails.
“DHS attempts to claim they are not responsible for the crisis at the border and lack any means to solve the fast-developing disaster,” he said. “At the same time, they admit to friendly members of the media off the record that they fail to perform even the most basic of functions.”
States Are Scrambling
All this has left states scrambling to find some way to deal with the record numbers of migrants crossing the southern border every day and they are quickly running out of resources to deal with the problem.
Massachusetts is spending $64 a day per migrant just to feed the migrants it is housing in hotels across the state — which it is required to do under the state’s “Right to Shelter” law. In August, the state began pushing for residents, business owners, and colleges to house illegal immigrants.
New York has also been hard hit by the massive influx of migrants, infamously forcing some students into remote learning so it could house illegal immigrants in the school buildings.
Many homeless advocates and politicians, on both sides of the political aisle, have pushed back against these measures supporting illegal immigrants.
“Refugees in their 20’s get more than what retirees who worked & paid taxes get from social security,” U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams is also facing a lawsuit from homeless advocates, who are arguing that American citizens are being neglected as the city works to provide housing for 65,000 migrants a year.
“The mayor’s disrespect for everyday New Yorkers, especially those facing homelessness, not to mention this council and our speaker, is shameful,” said Democrat New York City Council Member Tiffany Cabán.
The concerns about these issues are widespread around the nation. “Americans need to be first,” said a veteran in the Tribune Chronicle, a small paper in Ohio.
Is Michigan Next?
In Michigan’s case, many are concerned that the measures to house migrants that are currently voluntary will soon become “mandatory.” These concerns aren’t unfounded. The U.K. recently began seizing properties to house illegal immigrants.
There is also some evidence that population experts and the Michigan government are intentionally pushing for foreign migrants to come to the state, as a solution to the state’s “shrinking population.”
“Last week, after pointing to the fact that this was occurring to replace existing Michigan residents…I was censured, defamed and had my staff/office budget displaced,” said state Rep. Joshua Schriver on X, in response to the news about the housing program. “Can’t stop. Won’t stop. I love all Michigan residents too much.”
Last week, after pointing to the fact that this was occurring to replace existing Michigan residents…I was censured, defamed and had my staff/office budget displaced.
Can’t stop. Won’t stop. I love all Michigan residents too much.
– Representative @JoshuaSchriver (MI-66)
— Rep. Joshua Schriver (@JoshuaSchriver) February 19, 2024
Residents who participate in the housing program must make a 90-day commitment, according to Fox 2. Michigan is also asking residents to make donations so it can provide housing, legal services, and interpretation to migrants and education for K–12 children.
“The Office of Global Michigan’s goal is to make Michigan the home for opportunity for our immigrant, refugee and ethnic communities,” said Poppy Hernandez, Michigan’s chief equity and inclusion officer and director of the Office of Global Michigan. “With expanded refugee resettlement pathways, everyday Michiganders can provide refuge and build a state where people are welcomed with open arms.”
Welcoming unvetted migrants with open arms is what states like Massachusetts and New York have tried — and it is destroying them. Michigan should learn from those failed policies, or taxpayers will be the ones opening their wallets and their homes.
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Elyse Apel is the Social Media Coordinator for The American Spectator. She is a senior at Hillsdale College who is majoring in politics and minoring in journalism. In her free time, she freelances for local newspapers, travels with her husband, and enjoys taking long walks exploring Hillsdale.
Photo “Illegal Immigrants” by John R. Modlin.
