A pair of Chicago aldermen have introduced legislation that would roll back the city’s sanctuary law currently forbidding any cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities, but their efforts face stiff odds in a city council dominated by liberal members.
Raymond Lopez and Silvana Tabares, both Democrats, filed a proposed amendment to Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance, which calls for exceptions when a migrant has been arrested or convicted of certain criminal activities. The aldermen argued in a public statement that it’s in the best interest of the city’s immigrant community to work with the incoming Trump administration in situations where wanted illegal migrants are involved in heinous crimes.
“We believe that the best way to protect law-abiding non-citizens from the returning Trump Administration is by working with them in apprehending their priority targets: non-citizens that CHOOSE to engage in dangerous, illegal activity once they are in the United States,” Lopez said in a public statement. “Our current [Welcoming City Ordinance] prohibits any coordination or cooperation, even in the most heinous situations.”
“This policy is dangerous to those law-abiding undocumented and non-citizens residents because, if someone is arrested or convicted of crimes, the federal authorities aren’t notified,” he continued. “Should the federal government go looking for those specific individuals seeking to deport them, there is a high probability that other targets, law-abiding undocumented and non-citizen residents, may be apprehended and deported as collateral damage. That is an entirely unacceptable yet avoidable situation.”
The proposal would roll back an amendment that was made to the Welcoming City Ordinance in January 2021 which eliminated any exceptions to Chicago’s sanctuary policy. Previously, the Chicago Police Department was allowed to work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) if migrants had an outstanding criminal warrant, were in the city’s gang database or had been convicted of a felony or carried a pending felony charge.
The 2021 ordinance — a campaign pledge by then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot — was passed overwhelmingly by the city’s liberal majority by a vote of 41 to 8, according to NBC Chicago.
Chicago aldermen appear to still be very supportive of the strict sanctuary law. When Lopez and Tabares made a similar proposal in September 2023, they were not even able to land a committee hearing, according to WTTW News.
Mayor Brandon Johnson also stands as a major proponent of sanctuary policy. Following President-elect Donald Trump’s election victory in November, Johnson publicly reaffirmed the city’s sanctuary status and vowed to fight the incoming administration’s sweeping deportation plans — despite local law enforcement’s acknowledgment that Tren de Aragua gang members have taken root in the city.
Trump’s pick for border czar, former ICE chief Tom Homan, has pledged to conduct the largest deportation operation in the country’s history and previously confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation that he would deploy more ICE agents to cities that refuse to cooperate with the agency. The incoming border czar also declared that he is prepared to hold accountable anyone who unlawfully harboring a wanted fugitive.
Lopez said he isn’t concerned with the fight between the mayor and the president-elect. He simply wants to keep the city safe by allowing enforcement actions against criminals.
“We are not concerned with the political theatrics of returning President Trump or Mayor Johnson,” he said in a statement. “Our goal is to protect those that deserve our protection: those undocumented and non-citizen residents of Chicago that follow the law and contribute positively to our city while waiting for a path out of the shadows.”
“This amendment to the [Welcoming City Ordinance], which is narrow in scope and specific on when it can be activated, will keep those individuals safe while maintaining the spirit of our city’s history and immigrant traditions,” Lopez continued.
The two aldermen plan to use a parliamentary maneuver in order to force the council to vote on their amendment Wednesday.
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