Chicago police, mayor refuse cooperation in Trump's mass deportation; council members 'educate' illegal immigrants on ICE
The Chicago Police Department has vowed that it will absolutely not cooperate or assist in President Donald Trump's proposed mass deportation of illegal immigrants.
During his inauguration speech on Monday, Trump declared that he would tackle the immigration crisis head-on.
'To all who are being made to feel unsafe and reduced by a takeover of the federal government, by those who seek to enrich themselves at the expense of the good people of Illinois, we will not stand idly by.'
"First, I will declare a national emergency at our southern border," Trump proclaimed. "All illegal entry will immediately be halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came."
"We will reinstate my Remain in Mexico policy," he continued. "I will end the practice of catch and release."
Trump pledged to send U.S. troops to the southern border to "repel the disastrous invasion of our country."
Trump also threatened to designate the cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and is attempting to terminate birthright citizenship.
Also on Inauguration Day, Trump signed the "Guaranteeing the States Protection Against Invasion" proclamation that will crack down on illegal immigration.
"The Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Secretary of State and the Attorney General, shall take all appropriate action to repel, repatriate, or remove any alien engaged in the invasion across the southern border of the United States on or after the date of this order," the proclamation states.
Trump administration allegedly eyes Chicago for illegal immigration operation
The Trump administration had allegedly prepared plans to carry out an illegal immigration raid starting on Tuesday in Chicago — a self-professed sanctuary city. However, the apparent operation for Chicago was leaked to the Wall Street Journal, which published a report on Friday.
Four people familiar with the operation told the WSJ that the Trump administration had planned a "large-scale immigration raid in Chicago."
Following the leak, President Trump’s incoming border czar, Tom Homan, said the administration "hasn’t made a decision yet" about the raid.
“We’re looking at this leak and will make a decision based on this leak,” Homan told the Washington Post on Saturday. “It’s unfortunate because anyone leaking law enforcement operations puts officers at greater risk.”
Homan stressed, “Chicago’s not off the table, but we’re reconsidering when and how we do it because there was a leak."
Homan noted that the administration is not focusing on one area, but the operations would extend throughout the country.
"We’ll be arresting people across the country, uninhibited by any prior administration guidelines. Why Chicago was mentioned specifically, I don’t know," said Homan — a former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Homan said the operations are a "nationwide thing," and they have a "targeted enforcement plan."
Chicago Police Department vows not to cooperate with federal immigration authorities
The Chicago Police Department vowed not to assist in any actions with any federal immigration authorities with "enforcement action solely based on immigration status." The CPD stated that it can't assist in any illegal immigration arrests because the city's municipal code and the Welcoming City Ordinance forbid them to do so.
The Chicago Police Department released a statement to WGN-TV that reads: "To be clear, the Chicago Police Department will not assist or intervene in civil immigration enforcement in accordance with the City of Chicago Municipal Code. As always, we will continue to enforce the law if a crime occurs, regardless of the citizenship status of those involved."
The Welcoming City Ordinance states: "The City Council finds that the cooperation of all persons, both documented citizens and those without documentation status, is essential to achieve the City's goals of protecting life and property, preventing crime, and resolving problems."
The ordinance adds, "No agent or agency shall request information about or otherwise investigate or assist in the investigation of the citizenship or immigration status of any person unless such inquiry or investigation is required by Illinois State Statute, federal regulation, or court decision."
The Welcoming City Ordinance also says that no local and state law enforcement will "arrest, detain or continue to detain a person solely on the belief that the person is not present legally in the United States, or that the person has committed a civil immigration violation."
There were calls by local activists to add an amendment to the Welcoming City Ordinance that would allow Chicago law enforcement agencies to work with federal immigration agencies if an undocumented migrant is arrested or convicted of certain serious crimes.
However, the Chicago City Council overwhelmingly voted 39-11 last week to reject the amendment for federal agencies to assist local authorities in matters of illegal aliens.
Alderman Byron Sigcho-López (25th Ward) said the amendment to the ordinance could spark concerns regarding "constitutional challenges in terms of due process, racial profiling, and so [on]."
Local governments are 'educating' illegal immigrants on how to deal with ICE
Meanwhile, local entities are organizing to sabotage any illegal immigrant round-up by the Trump administration.
WBBM-TV reported that the city of Evanston — a suburb of Chicago — held a workshop on Monday night that provided illegal immigrants with "the tools to fight back amid a cloud of uncertainty."
On Tuesday morning, the members of the council for the Chicago neighborhood of Little Village were handing out flyers and "educating immigrants about their rights should they be stopped by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents."
"One of the main things is letting them know not to sign anything, not to say anything, not to answer questions, and stay quiet," Little Village Community Council President Baltazar Enriquez stated. "The flyer that we're giving out, it has phone numbers for the consulate — the Mexican consulate, the Honduran consulate, the Guatemalan consulate, and attorneys that are willing to help them out for free."
Chicago mayor, Illinois governor pledge to protect illegal aliens
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson — a Democrat — has been an outspoken critic of Trump and promised to fight against the president's crackdown on illegal immigration.
The progressive mayor said, "I'm going to protect you, whether you're undocumented, whether you are seeking asylum, or whether you're seeking a good paying job, we're going to fight and stand up for working people. That's what Chicago is known for. We're going to continue to do that regardless of who's in the White House."
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker — a Democrat — has also declared that he will protect illegal immigrants from Trump's potential mass deportations.
Pritzker said on Monday morning, “As a new administration takes office less than two hours from now, across America our most vulnerable communities are about to contend with new uncertainty about their future. But here in Illinois, let there be no doubt: We will not go back. ... To all who are being made to feel unsafe and reduced by a takeover of the federal government, by those who seek to enrich themselves at the expense of the good people of Illinois, we will not stand idly by."
"Ripping those families apart, not acceptable to Americans," Pritzker continued. "And we’re going to stand up for them in the state of Illinois and do everything that we can to protect them. They’re good for our state. They’re good for our economy. They’re paying taxes. These are law-abiding people who are stabilizing communities often."
Chicago has spent $574.5 million on illegal immigrants, according to Fox News.
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