The Chicago Democrat said the left is targeting him for proposing a moderate amendment to the city’s strict sanctuary policy that prohibits cooperation between police and federal immigration authorities.
Chicago City Councilman Raymond Lopez is working to find immigration enforcement solutions that better protect the city’s immigrant communities without demonizing President-elect Donald Trump for political gain. He said he is sensing enthusiasm from the more liberal wing of the party. His comments came after his attempts to amend Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance were met with opposition from his fellow council members. (Related: Biden’s legacy on immigration is ‘historic’…for all the wrong reasons)
“The left is going after people like me who are trying to find a middle ground,” Lopez said. To NBC News. “Because I’m not going to run against Donald Trump for the next four years to win re-election.”
“I’m trying to protect people in the community,” he continued.
Los Angeles, California – September 08: Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents seeking to apprehend an illegal immigrant with a criminal record raided a home on Thursday, September 8, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Irrfan Khan/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Under the City of Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance, local governments are not permitted to assist or cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Previously, an exception was made Eligible immigrants have outstanding criminal warrants, are listed in the city’s gang database, have been convicted of a felony, or have pending felonies, but these exceptions apply. Even, it was abolished in January 2021 under then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
Lopez’s amendment would restore those exceptions and allow ICE to cooperate if an immigrant is involved in a serious crime. However, the Chicago City Council voted 38-11 Wednesday against consideration of the bill.
Lopez said critics of the amendment were “lying to the people for their own purposes” and criticized Democrats for meeting with incoming border czar Tom Homan. Chicago aldermen argue the city would be better off if deportation officers could focus on criminals rather than the immigrant community as a whole.
“I think we’re on the same page, that the opportunity to focus solely on criminals is enough to keep him busy for the next four years,” Lopez said of Homan, according to NBC News. That’s true.”
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has vowed to fight President Trump’s immigration enforcement policies shortly after being re-elected to the White House and remains a staunch defender of the city’s sanctuary status. In addition to Chicago’s regional policy, Illinois State Law It also limits ICE’s cooperation with law enforcement.
Amid the border crisis that began under the outgoing Biden-Harris administration, Chicago authorities have admitted about 43,000 asylum seekers since August 2022 and have so far provided about 150,000 asylum seekers to house and house them. spending millions of dollars. Many of the migrants are from Venezuela and were bused into the city by Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who is seeking relief from his state government.
The incoming Trump administration is reportedly planning to conduct a major deportation investigation involving as many as 200 employees in Chicago as early as Tuesday. However, Homan later suggested the raid could be postponed after plans for the attack were leaked to the media.
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