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Chicago Showdown: City Officials, Religious Leaders Resist Deportation Raids

January 22, 2025

As President Donald Trump’s administration is preparing to deliver on promised mass deportations, Windy City Democrats are preparing to hinder the president’s efforts. After information was leaked to The Wall Street Journal that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) planned to carry out deportations in Chicago, as well as other so-called “sanctuary cities,” Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker (D) indicated that although he supports deporting illegal immigrants who have committed violent crimes, he opposes the deportation of non-violent migrants.

“If there are violent criminals who have been convicted of violent crimes, who are undocumented, they are supposed to be deported. That is the law of the United States and has been for quite a long time. I don’t want them in my state. I don’t want them in the country,” Pritzker said.

However, the governor added that deporting “law-abiding” illegal immigrants would be detrimental to Chicago. In a statement Monday, he said, “Here in Illinois, let there be no doubt. ... 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.” Pritzker said that deporting illegal migrants is “not acceptable to Americans,” adding, “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’s Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) also declared that his municipal administration would oppose mass deportations. “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,” Johnson said in an interview Tuesday. He emphasized, “As a welcoming city and as a sanctuary city, we are firm in that our police department will not intervene or participate in any way as federal agents. None of our sister agencies or our city departments will cooperate or intervene in any way or any shape or any form.”

The Chicago Police Department also released a statement reiterating that its officers will not assist ICE with deportations. “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 statement reads.

Currently, Chicago’s “Welcoming City Ordinance” demands that 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 ordinance also stipulates that no local or state law enforcement officers may “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.”

Following The Wall Street Journal report that ICE was planning to raid Chicago, Trump’s “border czar,” former acting ICE director Tom Homan, shared that the Trump administration “hasn’t made a decision yet” whether or not to continue with the Chicago raid this week or postpone it. “We’re looking at this leak and will make a decision based on this leak,” Homan said. He added, “It’s unfortunate because anyone leaking law enforcement operations puts officers at greater risk.”

The architect of Trump’s deportation program said that Chicago should not have been made such “a focus of attention,” as mass deportations are “a nationwide thing.” He stated, “ICE will start arresting public safety threats and national security threats on day one.” Homan continued, “We’ll be arresting people across the country, uninhibited by any prior administration guidelines. Why Chicago was mentioned specifically, I don’t know.”

Homan did, however, indicate that he and other Trump administration officials believe fear of mass deportations may encourage illegal immigrants to “self-deport.” Laughing, Homan said, “ICE is finally going to do their job. We’re going to take the handcuffs off of ICE and let them go arrest criminal aliens. That’s what’s going to happen.” He added, “There’s going to be a big raid all across the country. Chicago is just one of many places.”

However, elected officials aren’t the only critics of Trump’s and Homan’s mass deportations. Cardinal Blase Cupich, the Catholic archbishop of Chicago who spoke at the pro-abortion Democratic National Convention last year, called mass deportation plans “profoundly disturbing.” In a Sunday homily the day before Trump’s inauguration, the left-wing archbishop said, “We are proud of our legacy of immigration that continues in our day to renew the city we love. This is a moment to be honest about who we are. There is not a person in Chicago, save the Indigenous people, who has not benefited from this legacy.” He called on Chicago Catholics to speak “out in defense of the rights of immigrants and asylum seekers. Similarly, if the reports are true, it should be known that we would oppose any plan that includes a mass deportation of U.S. citizens born of undocumented parents.” Cupich added that he “vigorously support[s] local and state legislation to protect the rights of immigrants in Illinois.”

Pope Francis, who has long criticized Trump’s border policies, also called planned mass deportations “a disgrace.” Newly-appointed Catholic archbishop of Washington, D.C. Cardinal Robert McElroy indicated that he, too, opposes Trump’s immigration policy. The comments of Cupich and Francis contradict the teachings of the Catholic Church and statements of past popes on national sovereignty and identity and border control.

The non-government organization (NGO) Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley is currently under investigation in Texas for human trafficking due to its involvement in shuttling illegal immigrants from the southern border further into the U.S. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and affiliates like Catholic Charities have collected over $2 billion from the federal government over the past two decades in exchange for “migrant services,” including transport and relocation.

S.A. McCarthy serves as a news writer at The Washington Stand.



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