Protesters attack Ald. Julia Ramirez and an aide over tents for asylum-seekers

Protesters opposed to a proposed winter tent camp for migrants in Brighton Park attacked Ald. Julia Ramirez (12th) and an aide Thursday morning, prompting police to shuttle the pair off in a squad car.

Mayor Brandon Johnson said the “physical attack” is being investigated by police.

Ramirez declined medical attention, but the 21-year-old aide was taken to a hospital in fair condition, police said. No arrests were reported.

Dozens of protesters surrounded the alderperson shortly after 10 a.m. near 38th Street and California Avenue, where the city has proposed erecting winter tents for migrants. Video from social media showed protesters following Ramirez and yelling at her. Police officers escorted her into a squad car and pushed back protesters, the videos show.

Ramirez said the “disappointing experience” began when she went out to hear concerns from residents.

“I wanted to engage directly with my community to address misinformation being spread about my involvement in the plan, and how we should move forward as a community,” the first-term alderperson said in a statement after the attack.

“After having a few conversations, it became clear that most of the protesters did not want to engage in a peaceful dialogue with me. It was truly a disappointing experience,” she said. “As I was leaving the protest, a group of protesters surrounded me and my staffer and began assaulting us.”

The protest had been promoted by flyers circulated on social media.

“For the sake of the safety of our community, the unity of our community and the peace of the environment, we firmly oppose the site construction of the camp,” one flyer read.

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Ramirez plans to hold a community meeting about the planned tents Tuesday at Kelly High School.

Johnson condemned the violence in a statement.

“My administration supports the right to peaceful protest and free speech, but this type of action against a public servant is unconscionable,” Johnson said. “Any violent act against an elected official in our city is unacceptable and must be condemned in the strongest terms.”

In a statement, U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García, D-Illinois, said: “All people have a right to peacefully protest and make their concerns known, but we can never tolerate violence toward elected officials and their staff.” 

Johnson has planned to open giant tent cities he calls “winterized base camps” to get more than 3,700 migrants off police station and airport floors before temperatures plummet. One of the proposed locations is an abandoned industrial site in Brighton Park at 38th and California. The city has refused to identify other potential sites, for fear of stirring up opposition.

Another potential site is at 115th and Halsted Street in Morgan Park.

Residents across Chicago have resisted plans to move migrants into tents and other shelters, often during tense community meetings. Earlier this month, the city paused a plan to use Amundsen Park on the West Side to house asylum-seekers after intense pushback from residents.

Ramirez, 32, was elected in February. The former community organizer and Chicago Public Schools social worker beat Ald. Anabel Abarca, who had been appointed to the 12th Ward seat a few months earlier to succeed Ald. George Cardenas, who won a seat on the Cook County Board of Review.

Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times

In her statement after the attack, Ramirez said she has “the same concerns” as some of her residents.

“I hear my residents and want them to know I will always advocate for their safety and ensure our communities have the resources they deserve. I also respect everyone’s right to peacefully protest. However, violence and hate is not the answer,” Ramirez said.

She said her ward should welcome the new arrivals, but she also pressed the mayor’s office “for more transparency, accountability, and more local involvement in the decision-making process.”

Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times

She asked the mayor’s office “to explore more options for establishing permanent shelters, and reevaluate if tents are an appropriate solution at this site.”

The aide who was attacked, Alexander Diaz, used to work for Ald. David Moore (17th), the alderperson posted on social media. Moore condemned the attack and explained that alderpeople do not have a say in where Johnson’s administration will place the tent camps.

“Feel free to protest as you should and have the right to do, but don’t physically attack the person the people elected to serve you,” Moore wrote.

Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times

Brighton Park residents have already expressed skepticism about the plan to build a tent camp.

Domingo Diaz, who can see the potential site from the rear garage of his bungalow on 38th Street, said he’s seen construction crews laying pipes for sewage.

Diaz, an immigrant from Mexico, said he understands the plight of new arrivals but worried about putting so many of them — 500 to 1,000, according to Johnson — in his backyard without a clear plan for their permanent resettlement.

“I’ve been hearing that some have been causing some problems around the city,” Diaz said. “Of course, there are good people among them, but there’s also bad people, and we don’t know which ones will be here.”

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