The Chicago city council on Wednesday blocked a proposal that would have allowed local law enforcement to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain migrants with a criminal record.
Chicago’s “welcoming city” ordinance, in compliance with the 2017 Illinois Trust Act, prohibits local law enforcement from participating in federal immigration enforcement.
Ald Ray Lopez and Silvana Tabares wanted to change the ordinance to enable police to cooperate with ICE to target migrants who had been arrested for gang or drug-related activities or sexual crimes involving minors. Their measure received backlash from activist groups when they first introduced the measure in 2023.
The two officials saw their proposed amendment get struck down by a 39-11 vote.
Before Chicago officials voted down the proposed amendment, Jordan Kelly, a member of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and resident of 30th ward, spoke out against Lopez and Tabares’ proposed amendment.
“Self-hating cowards such as Ray Lopez and Tabares want to turn our city into a hell for migrants who are not only Latin, by the way. CAIR Chicago has 40-50 open asylum cases currently. What do we tell these people and families if we don’t remain a sanctuary? Plus, our economy cannot handle mass deportations,” Kelly said.
