Illinois NAACP president apologizes after likening migrants to 'savages,' rapists, burglars

The president of the Illinois NAACP has apologized after referring to migrants as "savages," rapists and burglars during a recent conference call, prompting calls for her to resign.

Teresa Haley, the president of Illinois' National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), apologized profusely in a statement on Friday, saying that she loves and values immigrants.

"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," Haley said.

The NAACP president said that she remains an advocate for denouncing "injustices, racism, and discrimination," and is "empathetic to the plight of all people."

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"I have worked tirelessly to advocate for the underserved and the voiceless. I remain focused on denouncing injustices, racism, and discrimination," Haley said. "I am empathetic to the plight of all people, and I proudly serve as a beacon of hope to the hopeless."

Haley said that she "embraces" the mission of the civil rights organization, despite her controversial comments last week.

Her controversial statement came during the state presidents' meeting last month, which was recorded and made public by former NAACP DuPage County president Patrick Watson.

"These immigrants have come over here, they’re raping people, they’ve been breaking into homes, they’re like savages as well. They don’t speak the language, and they look at us like we were crazy," Haley said in the video, obtained by ABC 7.

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Since the leaked meeting, she has faced sharp criticism and calls for her immediate resignation.

The former DuPage County NAACP President Patrick Watson, who said he resigned in protest of Haley's comments, called for her resignation.

"This was an organization that was founded to combat the very things that she said. Those were things that were said about Black people," he said.

Gov. JB Pritzker called Haley's comments about migrants "extraordinarily inappropriate." 

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"I also think that people should recognize that immigrants in this country are all around us," he told The Seattle Times. "Virtually all of us came here from somewhere else. So remarks like that are commentary on our entire society. Extraordinarily inappropriate."

Haley also serves as president of the NAACP Springfield branch. She is seeking election to the national NAACP board of directors.

Haley's comments on the spiraling migrant crisis in Chicago comes as thousands of migrants have arrived to the sanctuary city.

As of Dec. 14, more than 25,000 people have arrived in Chicago from the southern border since August 2022, according to data compiled by the City of Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC). 

The city's dashboard claims 25,700 people have come via "Texas buses," as Democrats have blasted Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's migrant busing operation transporting migrants to sanctuary jurisdictions. 

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But the city dashboard only has data for migrants arriving to Chicago "via airplane" as of June 2023, showing 4,252 individuals have arrived by plane to Chicago seeking asylum since then. Besides Abbott, the federal government also relocates migrants from the border across the country.

The Illinois NAACP and NAACP's national office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

Fox News' Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.