Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson on Monday signed an executive order declaring city-owned spaces “ICE-free zones,” barring federal immigration authorities from using municipal properties for enforcement operations, a move that quickly drew fierce condemnation from the White House and Department of Homeland Security.
Under the order, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers are prohibited from using city-controlled parking lots, garages, and vacant lots as staging areas or processing sites for immigration activity. Johnson claimed the measure would “protect community trust” and accused ICE agents of acting as “a rogue, reckless group of heavily armed, masked individuals” operating outside local accountability.
“Our school parking lots are not for ICE to load their weapons; they are for Chicagoans dropping their kids off to learn,” Johnson said during a press conference. “Our parks and libraries belong to the people of Chicago, not to federal agents conducting raids.”
The order follows recent ICE operations in the Chicago area and comes amid heightened federal enforcement under President Donald Trump’s Operation Midway Blitz initiative. Johnson’s action also coincides with plans to deploy hundreds of National Guard troops to Illinois and other states to protect federal agents and property following escalating violence outside immigration facilities.
Within hours of Johnson’s announcement, the White House issued a scathing statement condemning the order as “a disgusting betrayal of every law-abiding citizen.” Administration officials accused the mayor of “shielding the most depraved, violent criminal illegal aliens from justice” and intensifying what they called “the Democrats’ sanctuary agenda.”
“Mayor Johnson’s pathetic excuse that enforcing our nation’s immigration laws somehow ‘undermines community trust’ exposes his true loyalty to criminal illegal alien predators, not the terrified families of Chicago,” the statement read.
Federal officials cited several recent ICE arrests in Chicago as examples of offenders the new policy could shield from accountability, including:
- Stefan Cseve, an Austrian national convicted of multiple sex crimes and is facing pending murder and child rape charges.
- Cristobal Carias Masin, a Salvadoran national convicted of statutory rape and fraud, with pending assault charges.
- Angel Galindo Viveros, a Mexican national convicted of armed carjacking and robbery.
- Blanca Cecillia Sanchez-Sanchez, a Venezuelan national identified as a confirmed member of the violent Tren de Aragua gang.
In its response, the White House said the order “puts criminal illegals before American citizens” and vowed that federal immigration enforcement would continue regardless of local restrictions.
“This dangerous policy emboldens criminals and undermines law enforcement,” a senior DHS official said Monday. “While Chicago politicians create sanctuary zones for violent offenders, ICE officers will continue risking their lives to protect American communities.”
Federal operations in Chicago are expected to continue under Operation Midway Blitz, with officials reaffirming that “no city will become a safe haven for criminal illegal aliens.”
