Chicago police craft stance on Trump's mass deportation policy
CHICAGO (CBS) -- With President-elect Donald Trump's so-called border czar, Tom Homan, vowing Chicago will be "ground zero" for their plan for mass deportations, a recent Chicago Police Department advisory has offered insight into what officers will be allowed to do when it comes to that effort to deport undocumented immigrants once Trump takes office.
Police sources said a special order advisory about "responding to incidents involving citizenship status" was recently given to supervisors.
Among the things it mentions, department members will not assist with enforcing immigration law unless taking police action because of an immediate public safety concern or violation; and they will not stop, arrest, or detain someone based solely on immigration status.
"You don't want to pick up people on the street because they look like they're Hispanic, and you're wondering if there here legally or not. You can't do that. Maybe that's what the federal government may want in a couple weeks, but you can't do that," CBS News Chicago Legal Analyst Irv Miller said.
Miller said the CPD advisory – which is based on Chicago's Welcoming City ordinance designed to protect undocumented immigrants – mirrors the Illinois TRUST Act, a state law which prohibits law enforcement from cooperating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials. That means police can't collect or provide information about a person's immigration status.
In cases where an undocumented immigrant has been arrested, ICE officials might issue a detainer asking police to hold them for 48 hours until ICE agents can take them into federal custody, but Illinois law prohibits such cooperation except in cases where the person faces a federal criminal arrest warrant.
"Whether or not they believe the person is here legally or not, they have to enforce the federal arrest warrant," Miller said.
Asked about the advisory given to police supervisors, CPD officials said in a statement:
"The Chicago Police Department enforces the City of Chicago's Municipal Code, which includes the Welcoming City Ordinance. CPD does not document immigration status, and in accordance with the ordinance, does not share information with federal immigration authorities. We will not intervene or interfere with any other government agencies performing their duties."
Chicago police said this is not the first time an advisory like this was given out. A similar one was distributed in 2021.
Miller said the Welcoming City ordinance and the Illinois TRUST Act run contrary to a federal statute that states it's a crime for someone who "conceals, harbors, or shields from detection, or attempts to conceal, harbor, or shield from detection, such alien in any place, including any building or any means of transportation."
Violating that federal statute carries a penalty of up to five years in federal prison.
Ald. Ray Lopez (15th) said he's seen the CPD advisory, and he feels it ties officer's hands and keeps them from fulfilling their oath.
Lopez said he plans to call for a vote on Wednesday on an ordinance that would revive four exemptions to the Welcoming City Ordinance, allowing police to work with federal immigration authorities when someone has been arrested or convicted for:
- gang-related activities including, but not limited to, loitering, intimidation and recruitment;
- drug-related activities including, but not limited to, purchasing, selling, or distribution of any substance considered to be an illegal drug by the Food and Drug Administration;
- prostitution-related activities including, but not limited to, solicitation, performance, or human trafficking of adults;
- sexual crimes involving minors
"Only in cases where individuals choose to commit crimes, when they're arrested or convicted of gang-related; drug-related; prostitution, human trafficking-related crimes; or sex crimes against minors would we entertain working with the federal government to address these individuals," Lopez said.
However, critics have said Lopez's proposal could raise due process concerns by allowing police to engage in immigration enforcement in cases when someone has been accused but not convicted of a crime.
