SPRINGFIELD, IL — Teresa Haley, the conference president of the Illinois NAACP, was suspended by the organization’s national leadership on Wednesday after she was caught on tape describing migrants as “savages,” rapists and burglars.
The next day, she issued a statement apologizing to “anyone who may have been hurt or offended” by the comments, which were recorded during a meeting with Illinois NAACP branch presidents in October.
“I love and value all members of our communities — including immigrants. I have worked tirelessly to advocate for the underserved and the voiceless. I remain focused on denouncing injustices, racism and discrimination,” Haley said.
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“I am empathetic to the plight of all people, and I proudly serve as a beacon of hope to the hopeless,” she asserted.
In her video-recorded remarks to presidents of local Illinois NAACP branches, Haley falsely claimed there were up to 80,000 immigrants on the South and West side of Chicago — thrice as many as have actually arrived during the more than 16 months since buses sent from border states started showing up.
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Haley said in the video that people seem to care more about immigrant families on the street than Black people who have “been on the street forever and ever.” Haley has been the NAACP’s Illinois state conference president since 2015 and led the Springfield branch since 2009.
“But these immigrants have come over here, they’ve been raping people, they’ve been breaking into homes, they’re like savages as well,” Haley said in the video, which she initially suggested might have been generated by artificial intelligence. “They don’t speak the language and they look at us like we were crazy, because we were the only people in America who were brought over here against our wills, and were slaves, sold into slavery.”
The nearly two-minute video of Haley’s comments was released by the resigning head of the DuPage County branch, resulting in her widespread condemnation.
Asked about her remarks on Tuesday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker called them “reprehensible” and called on her to apologize.
On Friday, the national office of the NAACP announced Haley had been suspended for an unspecified period of time.
“The NAACP stands firm in our commitment to advancing racial justice and cultivating a society where human dignity is respected,” an NAACP spokesperson said in a statement.
“As of December 13, NAACP Illinois State Conference President Teresa Haley has been suspended,” the spokesperson said. “As an internal matter, there will be no additional comment at this time. The NAACP will continue to foster an environment that is reflective of our mission and respective of our membership.”
According to a statement from Haley’s NAACP branch, she maintains the support from every leader of the organization’s Illinois chapters.
It said branch presidents met on Wednesday — the same day she was suspended — and “unanimously supported Haley’s quintessential leadership skills.”
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