The Chicago City Council overwhelmingly voted against an amendment proposed by two Democratic aldermen that would have rolled back the city’s strict sanctuary laws.

city ​​council on wednesday Voted to table an amendment to Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance that would prohibit cooperation with local officials and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. The amendment, proposed by Democratic City Council members Raymond López and Silvana Tavares, would have allowed undocumented immigrants to cooperate if they were arrested or convicted of certain crimes. . (Related: Biden administration will provide millions of dollars in refunds to illegal immigrants who unsuccessfully applied for amnesty program)

The official vote rejected the proposal by a vote of 39 to 11, dashing hopes among moderate Democrats that Chicago could help arrest deportation officials and remove illegal immigrants.

The debate over this amendment featured heated speeches from citizens on both sides of the issue. Liberal activists who occupied the city council chambers cheered and yelled at their supporters whenever opponents of the proposal spoke out. In one of his earlier speeches, a man who identified himself as “Mr. The Chicago Conservatives” were so vocally opposed to the city’s sanctuary status that they were forced to wait until the audience quieted down.

“Who are you loyal to?” asked the Chicago Conservative. “Are you an American citizen here in Chicago or an illegal immigrant here in Chicago?”

“What is the Sanctuary Law? [Mayor] Brandon Johnson allowed criminals, drug traffickers, and terrorists. There are terrorists in our cities right now,” he continued before the crowd momentarily denounced him.

However, most speakers during the public comment period were adamantly opposed to changing Chicago’s sanctuary law.

“All the black people and Latinos in Chicago who are caught up in these stupid calls for deportation should stop acting like rabid white racists and wake up and trash Throw it away,” another person said.

If passed, the proposal would have repealed the amendments made to the Welcoming Cities Ordinance. in January 2021 This eliminated the exception to the city’s sanctuary policy. Previously, Chicago police would cooperate with ICE officers if an immigrant had an outstanding criminal warrant, was listed in the city’s gang database, had been convicted of a felony, or had a pending felony. was allowed to do so.

The 2021 ordinance, a campaign promise of then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot, was passed overwhelmingly by the council’s liberal majority, 41-8, according to NBC Chicago.

When they first proposed the amendment in early January, López and Tavares argued that more ICE cooperation would be good for the safety of the city’s immigrant community.

“The best way to protect law-abiding non-citizens from the reinstated Trump administration is to work with them to arrest their priority targets: non-citizens who choose to participate in dangerous and illegal activities after entering the United States.” We believe that this is the right thing to do,” Lopez said. public statement. “Our present [Welcoming City Ordinance] Any coordination or cooperation is prohibited, even in the most heinous of circumstances. ”

“This policy is dangerous to law-abiding illegal aliens and non-citizens because federal authorities are not notified when someone is arrested or convicted,” he said of the current law. “When the federal government searches for specific individuals seeking deportation, other targets, such as law-abiding illegal aliens and noncitizen residents, are likely to be collaterally arrested and deported. .”

CHICAGO, IL – SEPTEMBER 11: An immigrant living in the Chicago Police Department’s 15th Precinct places plastic wrap around the wheel of his bicycle to protect his belongings from rainwater outside the station on Monday, September 11, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. connect. (Photo by Joshua Lott/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Johnson himself has vowed to fight President-elect Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement policies since shortly after his reelection to the White House, and remains a staunch defender of Chicago’s sanctuary status. In addition to city policy, Illinois State Law It also limits ICE’s cooperation with local law enforcement.

Law enforcement officials confirmed in September that members of the Torren de Aragua gang were arrested on weapons and drug charges in Cook County, where Chicago is located, in an internal email obtained from the Cook County Sheriff’s Office. , it has been confirmed that members of this Venezuelan prison gang have been arrested. City, According to NBC Chicago. Torren de Aragua’s arrival coincides with the city’s own immigration crisis, but has also been linked to an increase in crime and fears of an impending turf war between its members and local urban gangs. connected to. According to Fox 32.

Chicago officials have admitted about 43,000 migrants since August 2022 and spent about $150 million to house and detain them so far amid the border crisis that began under the Biden-Harris administration. . Many of the asylum seekers are from Venezuela, and many have been bussed into the city by Texas Governor Greg Abbott to seek state relief.

President Trump has vowed to move forward with the history-making deportation action, regardless of how cooperative Chicago law enforcement is. Incoming border czar Tom Homan previously told the Daily Caller News Foundation that he would only send more ICE officers to sanctuary jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate and that individuals who disrupt ICE’s mission would be held accountable. I warned him that he would be attacked.

Neither Lopez nor Tavares responded to multiple requests for comment from DCNF.

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