The president of the Illinois NAACP has offered an apology after making disparaging comments about migrants describing them as  “savages,” rapists, and burglars while on a conference call, the

Teresa Haley, the current president of the Illinois chapter of NAACP, is being asked to resign from her post because of the controversial remarks she made.

According to footage of the meeting released by former DuPage County NAACP President Patrick Watson, Haley was critical of the government for providing migrants with housing and other social services instead of using the resources to help Black people.

“But these immigrants that come over here, they’ve been raping people, they’ve been breaking into homes. They’re like savages as well,” Haley said on the video.

“People are even renting out abandoned buildings and allowing them to live up in there, and that’s inhumane because they don’t have the sewage, the plumbing, the draining, but to get them off the streets, they’re just housing them anywhere,” the woman identified as Haley went on.

Watson, who also called Hailey to resign, said her comments were “abhorrent.”

“I will remain allying with the communities abhorrent to Ms. Haley, mistaken in her words that advocating powerfully and effectively for the descendants of the formerly enslaved means to denigrate others struggling to find their way,” Watson said.

“Those granted positions must not allow themselves to become agents of hate speech and divisiveness,” Watson continued.

In an official statement issued on Thursday (Dec. 14), Hailey apologized to all who were offended by her comments.

“First and foremost, I express my sincere apologies to anyone who may have been hurt or offended by my comments. I love and value all members of our communities — including immigrants,” Hailey said in the statement. “I have worked tirelessly to advocate for the underserved and the voiceless. I remain focused on denouncing injustices, racism, and discrimination. I am empathetic to the plight of all people, and I proudly serve as a beacon of hope to the hopeless.”

“I embrace the mission of the NAACP, which is to ‘Achieve equity, political rights, and social inclusion by advancing policies and practices that expand human and civil rights, eliminate discrimination, and accelerate the well-being, education, and economic security of Black people and all persons of color,” the statement continued. 

Intiatillyy, Hailey denied making the disparaging remarks saying “with AI, anything is possible.”

At an event last week, Gov. J.B. Pritzker described Haley’s comments about migrants as “reprehensible.”

“I would hope that she would apologize for the remarks. I also think that people should recognize that immigrants to this country are all around us,” Pritzker said.

According to CBS News, the city of Chicago has paid $138 million to vendors caring for migrants in a crisis that is deeply impacting the “Windy City.” 

Currently, there are 14,000 migrants in 27 active shelters with about 186 people “still waiting for placement at a shelter at O'Hare International Airport.”