Amy Jacobson and Jim Iuorio, filling in for Dan Proft, discussed concerns over unaccompanied migrant children who crossed the southern border during the surge in illegal crossings under the Biden administration, an issue Jacobson connected to California gubernatorial candidate and former Department of Homeland Security official Alejandro Mayorkas, whose tenure at DHS coincided with a period during which federal officials faced scrutiny over their ability to track and account for tens of thousands of unaccompanied migrant children following their release from federal custody.
The hosts welcomed Sam Sanchez, owner of Moe’s Cantina in Chicago’s River North neighborhood, to discuss an incident this past July involving a young girl believed to be an unaccompanied migrant, who was violently assaulted outside his restaurant by an intoxicated adult. Sanchez said he did not realize the child had been assaulted until reviewing security camera footage two days after the incident, which showed a woman confronting, searching, and ultimately body-slamming the child before bystanders intervened. Sanchez said he later attempted to speak with the girl directly, but she was unable or unwilling to identify her parents, and a woman standing nearby who was initially assumed to be her guardian denied any relationship to the child.
Sanchez described an ongoing pattern, spanning more than two years, of young children, some appearing as young as three years old, working late into the night selling candy, flowers, and other small items in bar and entertainment districts across the city, including River North, Wrigleyville, and the West Loop. He said the children appear to operate under organized coordination, noting identical merchandise and consistent patterns across different city neighborhoods, and described witnessing children approach visibly intoxicated bar patrons to request money through mobile payment apps. Sanchez said he and other local business owners have repeatedly reported the situation to police and to Alderman Andre Vasquez’s office, which oversees immigration-related issues, but said meaningful follow-up action has been limited, partly due to competing demands on police resources amid the city’s short-staffed police department.
Sanchez expressed particular concern that the children may be victims of trafficking or exploitation, noting that authorities do not appear to know where the children stay overnight, though he has observed vehicles dropping off groups of children in the area under conditions suggesting organized coordination rather than isolated family circumstances. He said local business owners initially responded to the broader migrant crisis with significant charitable support, including donating well over one hundred thousand meals during the period when the city was housing new arrivals in shelters and hotels, but said the situation shifted for the worse once city-run shelter and hotel placements were discontinued, leaving vulnerable individuals, including children, without stable housing or supervision.
Sanchez closed the interview by promoting an upcoming fundraiser supporting Chicago Police Officer Krzysztof Kresbow, who was seriously injured in an attack that killed his partner, Officer John Bartholomew, at the hands of a repeat felony offender who had previously removed a court-ordered ankle monitor. The fundraiser is scheduled for September 18th at Old Crow Smokehouse on North Clark Street, and will include food, live music, and raffles benefiting the officer and his family.