Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot joined protesters upset about a recent raids executed in Chicago as they gathered outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement press conference Thursday.
Lightfoot took the moment to reiterate the city’s commitment as a sanctuary city.
“We are not going to tolerate letting ICE terrorize our immigrant communities,” she said.
Protesters chanted “abolish ICE” outside the Chicago field office location where the city’s new director was holding a press conference Thursday afternoon.
The director said sanctuary cities were “non-cooperative jurisdictions” that can put criminals back on the street.
“The sanctuary laws and policies in Illinois cause aliens convicted of crime to be released back into the community to potentially harm law-abiding citizens,” said Robert Guadian.
Federal immigration officials detained five individuals at a pizza place on Chicago’s East Side Monday, according to Lightfoot.
Alderwoman Susan Garza of the 10th Ward said "some workers were taken," on her Facebook page.
ICE said in a statement it could not disclose details on the incident "for operational security and for privacy reasons.”
“I would like to remind your viewers that ICE does not conduct raids or sweeps...Nothing could be further from the truth. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement focuses its limited resources first and foremost by targeting those who pose the greatest threat to public safety and border security, and our officers make arrests every single day,” the statement read.
Lightfoot and her team confirmed that area police refused to respond to assist ICE officials.
She said she welcomed a meeting with Guadian, but noted she would tell him the same thing she told his predecessor.
“We are a sanctuary city, we are not cooperating with ICE and we don’t appreciate the ICE raids in our city,” she said.
