Democrat-run city building 6-foot fence around migrant housing complex to keep ‘intruders’ out

By LEO HOHMANN

Walls and fences are not very popular with progressives when such structures are proposed by President Trump to keep drug dealers, terrorists, killers and human traffickers out of the U.S.

But when a fence is requested to protect an inner-city community of refugees and migrants, these same anti-Trumpers are all in.

How do we know that?

Perhaps the most perfect example of this double standard is playing out right now in Minneapolis’ Cedar Riverside area, otherwise known as “Little Mogadishu” for its high concentration of Somali refugees.

The Cedar High Apartments, a four-building complex comprised of 539 mostly one-bedroom units, will be getting a $825,000 security upgrade, compliments of the Democrat-run city Housing Authority, that involves building a 6-foot security fence around the public-housing property.

According to the Star-Tribune, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey hosted a standing-room-only crowd of mostly Somalis at the complex Monday night. The mayor reportedly received a rousing ovation when he addressed the Somalis in their own language.

The project came in response to concerns from residents who say it’s been too easy for intruders to enter their community and hurt or steal from them, the Star-Tribune reported.

The Cedar High Apartments, built in the 1960s and 70s, is occupied mostly by Somali refugees and some Southeast Asians. Monday’s meeting included Somali and Korean translators, who went to work after the mayor ran out of things he knew how to say in Somali.

Several residents expressed concerns that the complex has been open to unwanted visitors who prey on its large population of elderly people. One man said his car has been broken into repeatedly in the parking lot and asked the city to provide better security while it’s constructing the fence. Another said the scariest part of her day is walking to the nearby light rail.

“It’s not a perfect solution, but we do think that it will help in safeguarding the residents of this complex, many of whom have experienced fear and some actual assaults due to the fact that this complex is so open,” said Mary Alice Smalls, a regional property manager. “We would like to make it a lot harder for people to assault our residents inside this building and inside this campus.”

Frey, who has identified affordable housing as the number-one priority in his first term, said in an interview with the Star-Tribune that the security upgrades, which also include a slew of surveillance cameras, garnered city approval in response to “community activists” raising concerns about safety.

“These changes are happening because public-housing residents spoke out and called for change in betterment of their situation,” Frey said. “So they really deserve the credit in spearheading this initiative.”

I wonder how many generational American citizens there are in Minnesota who live in poverty and long for a “betterment in their situation”? I wonder how many have advocates willing to relentlessly lobby city/state officials until they appropriate money from the public treasury to solve their problems and meet their needs?

Frey, whether he is aware of it or not, is following the playbook of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda, which encourages, as part of its 17 sustainability goals, not only open-borders for migrants and a free pass into wealthy Western democracies, but once they arrive they are entitled to provisions for safe and affordable housing, along with affordable transportation [mass transit], affordable healthcare and free education.

China, Russia, and the oil-rich Arab nations of course pay no heed to the U.N. calls for an open-borders’ policy toward migrants, but U.S. mayors like Frey are eager to please and will answer the globalist bell whenever it tolls.

Frey said a commitment to making housing affordable also means making sure “every single person has a safe and affordable place to go home to at the end of the day.”

The mayor thanked members of the crowd for raising concerns that drove the security project and invited tenants to call his office with more ideas on how to make them safer. He also vowed to continue working with the Somali community.

“You’ll be seeing a lot of me over the next several years,” he assured the Somalis.

Frey no doubt learned a lot about how to court the Somali vote by studying the groveling techniques of his predecessor, Betsy Hodges, who held regular meetings with Somali elders, sometimes wearing a hijab as a show of “respect,” and implemented preferential hiring practices for Somalis in all areas of city government, including the police department.

RELATED STORIES:  25 Reasons to end refugee resettlement from Somalia; and Rogue Somali refugees Pt. 2: Bad cops and another murder, and Sharia cop cracks down on Minnesota Muslims.