Ten days before President-elect Donald Trump is set to take office, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is doubling down on the city’s controversial Welcoming City Ordinance.
On Friday evening, Johnson issued new guidelines for local agencies on handling visits from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. This move comes as Tom Homan, the incoming border czar, has vowed to prioritize enforcement and deportation efforts in cities like Chicago. Meanwhile, the City Council is gearing up for a significant vote on this contentious issue.
Under the new directives, Mayor Johnson is urging city agencies and their affiliates to resist ICE operations on city property unless specific legal criteria are met. These guidelines include instructions to contact legal counsel, deny ICE entry into private or sensitive locations without a judicial warrant, and require the highest-ranking official on-site to handle ICE interactions.
“I’m surprised the mayor is taking these extraordinary measures to obstruct what Alderman Tabares and I are proposing,” said Alderman Ray Lopez (15th Ward). “Our goal is simple: to ensure public safety by addressing a small number of individuals who repeatedly engage in criminal behavior. The idea that we’re targeting everyone is false and misleading.”
The timing of Johnson’s memo—sent late Friday afternoon—underscores the heated debate ahead of next week’s City Council vote. Lopez and Alderman Silvana Tabares (23rd Ward) have introduced legislation seeking to amend the Welcoming City Ordinance. Their proposal would enable city agencies to collaborate with ICE in identifying and addressing undocumented individuals arrested for or convicted of specific crimes.
“The focus is narrow and clear,” Lopez stated. “This amendment targets individuals involved in four categories of serious crimes: gang activity, drug trafficking, prostitution and human trafficking, and sex crimes involving minors. It’s about protecting law-abiding immigrants and residents from those who exploit our community.”
Proponents of the amendment argue that it balances public safety and fairness, ensuring that hardworking immigrants seeking a better life are not conflated with those who break the law. As the debate continues, Chicago faces a pivotal moment in addressing the balance between public safety and its sanctuary policies.
