Residents of a deep-blue Massachusetts city blasted their city council this week for considering a $1 million taxpayer-backed defense fund for illegal immigrants.
Chelsea, MA residents packed their council meeting this week to oppose a measure introduced by Councilor Manuel Teshe that would use taxpayer money to pay legal fees for illegal immigrants.
“Our city is in need of so many other resources for community. This seems very unfair,” Stacey Smith, a fifth-generation Chelsea resident, said. “If you do the math, you would find out that Councilmember Teshe’s request would serve, at most, a couple hundred people.”
Many residents made reference to a video Teshe posted on Instagram announcing the proposal in which he claimed he had to protect his community.
“I take offense to this because I am your community member. I am a taxpayer, and I’m far from looking like a Latino, so I’m not included in your community viral video,” Kathleen Clark, a resident of Chelsea for three decades, said.
The council ultimately chose to table the motion. The opposition comes in a city that hasn’t voted for a Republican president since 1928, and where the vast majority of registered voters are Democrats.
