Colin Boyle/Block Club ChicagoThe ‘ICE On Notice’ executive order provides a framework for police and the Mayor’s Office to document and investigate alleged wrongdoing by immigration officers so they can be held criminally accountable, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office said.
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CHICAGO — Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order Saturday that directs Chicago police to “investigate and document” alleged crimes committed by federal immigration agents conducting operations in the city.
The executive order, named “ICE On Notice,” outlines a framework for Chicago police to identify, document, investigate and refer for prosecution federal agents found to have violated state or local law, according to Johnson’s office.
Johnson’s order comes after the federal government’s Operation Midway Blitz saw agents accused of wrongdoing and violations of civil rights, and it comes as it is expected agents will return in force during the spring, the mayor said at a press conference Saturday. It also comes on the heels of tumult in Minneapolis, where federal agents fatally shot Renee Good and Alex Pretti this month, sparking widespread protests and calls for accountability.
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“Nobody is above the law,” Johnson said in a statement. “The lawlessness of Trump’s militarized immigration agents puts the lives and well-being of every Chicagoan in immediate danger. … Chicago will not sit idly by while Trump floods federal agents into our communities and terrorizes our residents.”
The executive order calls on police at the scene of federal immigration activity to document any perceived illegal activity by federal agents and to make a report. Police, under the “direction of the Mayor’s Office,” will refer evidence of wrongdoing to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office for prosecution, Johnson’s office said in a press release.
But Johnson said Saturday that Chicago police would not be responsible for arresting immigration agents charged locally, and it is unclear how such prosecutions would be handled.
Johnson said Saturday his office worked with State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke’s office in crafting the executive order, but Burke said on social media that the mayor’s statement is “not true.”
Burke’s office had not received the order until it was made public, she said. The Mayor’s Office responded on social media, saying Burke’s chief of policy reviewed the executive order’s language.
“We do not provide legal approval of any matter until we’ve reviewed it,” Burke said in a statement. “On such a critical issue, it’s important we get it right.”
The city’s press release on the executive order includes a statement of support from Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, who has spearheaded efforts for local prosecutors to hold agents accountable. A statement from Burke was not included in the city’s press release.
“I applaud Mayor Brandon Johnson’s bold and principled leadership in building the infrastructure to hold ICE and [Border Patrol] agents accountable for criminal misconduct,” Krasner said in the statement. “He has stepped forward at a critical moment to defend his residents, protect local authority, and insist that federal power be exercised within the bounds of the law.”
The push for accountability for immigration agents comes after a federal judge in Minnesota recognized 96 violations of court orders by federal agents in the month of January, court filings show.
The Trump administration has largely rebuffed calls for agents accused of wrongdoing from being investigated, although the Justice Department has opened a civil rights investigation into Pretti’s killing, reports say.
In Chicago, agents killed Silverio Villegas Gonzalez, shot Marimar Martinez during a Brighton Park confrontation, ransacked a South Shore apartment building, put a West Side man in a chokehold after they caused a car accident and repeatedly attacked peaceful protesters and journalists with chemical weapons from September to November of last year.
Johnson called his executive order a “step toward justice” and said the policy can be used retroactively in cases where officers may have acted illegally.
Chicago police’s role during Operation Midway Blitz has been heavily scrutinized, with local leaders calling for investigations into claims officers aided immigration agents in violation of the city’s sanctuary laws.
In conjunction with the Mayor’s immigrant rights office, the Chicago Police Department will establish procedural guidelines to meet the order’s demands within 30 days of the signing, Johnson’s office said.
