A Philadelphia activist confronted the citys Democrat-dominated leadership this week, accusing council members of selectively mourning the dead while ignoring Americans killed by illegal aliens.
During a Thursday session of the Philadelphia City Council, John McAuley, a representative of the grassroots organization Flip Philly Red, rose to speak as members considered a resolution urging Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) and Republican Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA) to oppose funding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). According to Gateway Pundit, the resolution aligned with the citys progressive leadership, which has long embraced sanctuary-style policies and hostility toward federal immigration enforcement.
McAuley opened by introducing himself and his group, making clear he was challenging the citys entrenched one-party rule. My name is John McAuley. Im with a grassroots organization called Flip Philly Red. Were here to give something different to Philadelphia, something that you all are not used to because youve been voting Democrat for the mayors office for the past 70 years. He then rejected the lefts narrative that supporters of President Donald Trump and the America First movement are responsible for urban crime, declaring, Its not MAGA whos doing all of the carjacking and the shootings.
Turning directly to the ICE funding debate, McAuley argued that voters in key battleground states had already delivered a clear mandate for strong border enforcement. When we talk about ICE, 78 million people, seven swing states, including Pennsylvania, we voted for this. We voted for this. We gave a mandate. He urged both of Pennsylvanias U.S. senators to back federal legislation supporting immigration enforcement, stating, So I want to sit here and tell U.S. Senator John Fetterman, U.S. Senator Dave McCormick to vote yes and support HR 7147. I sit here and discussed as I watched Kendra Brooks, Jamie Gauthier here, and hold up pictures of a domestic terrorist, Renee Good.
McAuley then contrasted the councils public mourning of anti-ICE activist Renee Good with its silence on Americans allegedly murdered by illegal aliens. Ive never seen her put up a picture of DeCara Thompson, a 19-year-old who was raped and murdered by an illegal alien and thrown over a bridge. He continued listing victims whose names rarely appear in progressive tributes, adding, Ive never seen her put I never seen her put up a picture of Laken Riley who was raped and murdered.
He pressed the point further, highlighting another victim and calling out what he described as racial and ideological pandering by the councils left-wing members. I never seen her put up a picture of Larisha Thompson, a mother. Emphasizing who is being ignored, he added, I named two Black women, by the way. And you all sit here and pander to White liberal women like Renee Good.
At that point, council members attempted to rein him in, interrupting his remarks and demanding he confine himself strictly to the resolution at hand. McAuley was asked, Could you speak on the resolution? He pushed back, insisting his broader critique was directly relevant, responding, Im speaking on all of it. Its my First Amendment right. It all goes hand in hand.
The admonishment continued from the dais as officials tried to narrow the scope of his comments. Just make sure you speak on the resolution, he was admonished. McAuley, however, returned to the core issue of border security and the human cost of illegal immigration, stating, We wanted to fund to deport 20 million illegal aliens that was imported in here by the Biden and Harris administration with the help of the cartels. So why dont you all stand up for Americans for once? Because America comes first. You all need to understand that. We dont want to say our stories.
As McAuley attempted to continue, the council cut off his microphone, effectively silencing a dissenting voice that challenged both their immigration stance and their moral priorities. The exchange underscored a widening divide between ordinary citizens demanding border enforcement and political leaders more eager to appease activist networks than to acknowledge the victims of crimes committed by illegal aliens, a divide that is likely to intensify as the national debate over immigration and public safety continues to escalate.
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