Chicago residents called out Mayor Brandon Johnson at a City Council meeting Monday for spending over half a billion dollars of the city’s budget on sheltering migrants.

The money has been going to the New Arrivals Mission, a program designed to provide short-term emergency shelter to meet the needs of the humanitarian crisis. The program was started in 2022 and has since cost the city $574.5 million.

In addition to the strain the initiative is placing on the budget, the city is staring down a budget deficit of a billion dollars. In an attempt to fill the gap, Johnson proposed a roughly $60 million property tax increase at the City Council meeting. Residents wasted little time in responding.

“I got a great way what we can do with this budget. First, let’s start with cutting off illegals getting free everything, free housing, free schooling, free food. Yeah, let’s start with that. That’ll save us a lot of money,” one woman told Johnson during the meeting’s public comments, according to Fox News.

“Let’s start there. Then, let’s start with you. Your salary. You are going down in history as the worst mayor in America. Let’s start with cutting yours. You making too much money,” she added.

Johnson’s office reminded residents in April of the hundreds of thousands of asylum-seekers bussed north to Chicago by Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX).

“The City of Chicago has received the third-most asylum seekers of all major cities in the country, behind New York City and Denver, with nearly 39,000 new arrivals arriving in the City,” Johnson’s office said in April.

“The City of Chicago, in partnership with the State of Illinois and Cook County, has worked to support new arrivals on the path to self-sufficiency by providing basic necessities including food, temporary emergency shelter, urgent medical care, education, vaccines, and case management and resettlement supports,” the office added at the time. 

Another resident told Johnson about her experience as an immigrant coming to the United States legally, stating she is “very, very embarrassed for what my other fellow Latin American citizens are doing in this city on behalf of the people that pay taxes, on behalf of the people that contribute to the city.”

“These people came with a wide door open, and they feel entitled to many things that nobody has. There are U.S. citizens suffering from poverty. There are U.S. citizens on public aid and these people are here just enjoying the benefits, becoming delinquents, and they have no consequences,” she said during public comments.

The New Arrivals Mission will be slowly phased out at the end of this year, bringing a halt to the program’s spending.

“This transition is in line with the sharp decline in migration to Chicago and our current budget realities,” Johnson said in October. “We are shifting to a more cost-effective, equitable, and strategic approach that addresses homelessness for all who need support in the City of Chicago.” 

The mayor has said the city will continue to be a sanctuary for noncitizen migrants.

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At the news conference following the City Council meeting, Johnson said he and the City Council will work to balance the budget but insists he’s discussing “progressive revenue” with state and congressional leaders.

“This is an ongoing dynamic that really requires progressive bold leadership at this moment,” Johnson said.