Chicago proposal would end sanctuary status for those who commit certain crimes

Two Chicago aldermen have proposed eliminating sanctuary-city protections for foreign nationals convicted of or arrested for certain crimes.

Aldermen Raymond Lopez and Silvana Tabares say their proposed amendment to the Welcoming City Ordinance would allow the city to work with federal immigration officers. Lopez said the measure would only apply when an individual has been arrested for or convicted of gang crimes, drug crimes, prostitution-related activities such as human trafficking, or sex crimes involving minors.

“The goal of this amendment to our Welcoming City Ordinance is to keep people safe: to keep our citizens safe and to keep the undocumented, who are just following the law and awaiting their time until they can legalize their status, safe by removing those individuals who are here choosing, with emphasis on ‘choosing,’ to engage in certain, specific, illegal activities here in the city of Chicago,” Lopez told The Center Square.

Alderwoman Julia Ramirez said she is strongly opposed to the amendment, citing the potential for the Chicago Police Department to collaborate with federal immigration officials.

“In particular, it would involve CPD to coordinate with ICE, which is quite contradictory of the reason for having a sanctuary city,” Ramirez told The Center Square.

Ramirez said the proposal is not a new one.

“This has been happening for the last two years, and they’ve never wanted to be in collaboration about preventative measures that have most likely led to this situation now,” Ramirez said.

One of her concerns, Ramirez said, was that the amendment would not necessarily protect people who are not dangerous.

“There are very specific line items of things that people are accused of doing,” Ramirez said.

In a joint statement posted on X, Lopez and Tabares said the current ordinance is dangerous to law-abiding undocumented and non-citizen residents.

“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. Our current WCO prohibits any coordination or cooperation, even in the most heinous situations,” the statement read.

“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. 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,” Lopez and Tabares continued.

“We are not concerned with the political theatrics of returning President Trump or Mayor [Brandon] Johnson. 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 WCO, 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,” the two aldermen concluded.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker has vowed to protect noncitizen immigrants in Illinois after President-elect Trump takes office, but said felons should be evicted from the country.

“Someone who is not a U.S. citizen and entered this country without any documentation or permission, people who commit violent crimes who are in that category shouldn't be here,” Pritzker said.

Lopez said he believes Chicago should be welcoming to immigrants, but this is a decent compromise for all sides.

“I think we can all agree that criminals are not something that we want more of in our country, in our cities and in our neighborhoods,” Lopez told The Center Square.

Lopez and Tabares plan to call the measure for a vote next week.

Kevin Bessler contributed to this story.