Shocked residents of a Chicago neighborhood called 911 when they saw migrants ‘breaking into’ an apartment building – only to be told they could enter.
Video from across the street showed dozens of people trying to enter a three-story building on Essex Avenue on Chicago’s South Shore on Sunday.
The building’s windows were boarded up when it was renovated, locals said, and a construction company sign was posted on the door.
Footage showed the migrants, including children, standing outside the door as one of them tried to open the door, before she and many others who arrived later went inside.
Police radio calls intercepted by scanners showed officers responding to what the caller said were 40 to 50 migrants breaking into the home.
Video from across the street showed dozens of people breaking into a three-story building on Essex Avenue on Chicago’s South Shore on Sunday
In a later video, crowds form outside the building after more arrive on buses
However, subsequent discussions revealed that the building’s owner had “allowed the migrants to be there.”
Officers who arrived to clear the crowd of migrants reacted with surprise before pointing out that too many people were trying to enter.
“Well, there’s not enough room for everyone trying to get in here, so we’re trying to fix that… that seems to be the problem, there are capacity limits,” one person said.
The neighbor posted another video Tuesday evening showing that truckloads of migrants had been dropped off outside earlier that day.
Her video showed more crowds outside the building and a pickup truck with what appeared to be equipment parked on the street.
A later video showed more crowds outside the building and a pickup truck with what appeared to be equipment parked on the street
The building is owned by developer Chris Amatore, who has bought, renovated and sold more than 600 buildings in the city.
However, since the immigration crisis began in 2022, he has focused on converting buildings he owned into temporary shelters.
“I have dedicated my life for the foreseeable future to housing homeless Venezuelan asylum seekers in Chicago. To stand with them against the hate,” his Twitter bio read.
Amatore said earlier this month that the venture was funded by a significant windfall he made investing in cryptocurrency.
‘I worship God. I don’t worship money. So I decided to use that money to do something good with it,” he told CBS.
The building is owned by developer Chris Amatore (pictured), who has made it his mission to house homeless migrants in Chicago
Amadore with some of the 60 migrants he housed in another building he owned
“Something like this happened to me, and I feel like I’m following God’s plan and just trying to help.”
Amatore said he was moved to help when he saw a migrant camp where “no one could shower, people were eating out of trash cans.”
He said the first building he converted into a migrant shelter had 60 beds in eight units, and a second building he could use if Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson needed it.
It was unclear if this was that second building, but it was a different location than the first one he opened to migrants.