Chicago Mayor Establishes ICE-Free Zones Amid White House Condemnation

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has signed an executive order establishing "ICE-free zones," prohibiting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from using city-owned properties and unwilling private businesses as staging areas for immigration enforcement operations. Johnson criticized ICE for what he described as abuses, including detaining elected officials and tear-gassing protesters, and framed the order as a measure to protect constitutional rights and uphold local authority against federal overreach. The order includes posting signs on city properties to deter federal operations and aims to strengthen neighborhood solidarity and support immigrant communities. A federal ICE agent expressed that such sanctuary policies complicate and hamper deportation efforts by forcing agents to prepare for missions in public, exposed areas. The White House condemned the mayor's action, accusing him of aiding criminal illegal immigrants and criticizing the sanctuary policy as dangerous and harmful to law-abiding citizens. The move has sparked a sharp political divide, with Johnson defending the order as necessary to check federal enforcement overreach and the White House denouncing it as enabling criminal activity.