Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is among several mayors of sanctuary cities testifying before Congress in Washington D.C. Wednesday.
The Small Business Administration will move its Chicago office over the city’s “sanctuary” policies, it was announced Thursday.
Administrator Kelly Loeffler made the announcement as part of an initiative she says is in compliance with an executive order from President Donald Trump that prohibits access to federal funding from being given to individuals without legal status in the United States.
The SBA plans to relocate six offices located in “municipalities that do not comply with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”
One of those offices is located in Chicago, with others located in Atlanta, Boston, Denver, New York and Seattle, according to Loeffler’s announcement.
The announcement said that the offices would be relocated to “less costly, more accessible locations,” but did not elaborate on where the offices would be moved to.
“We will return our focus to empowering legal, eligible business owners across the United States – in partnership with the municipalities who share this Administration’s commitment to secure borders and safe communities,” Loeffler said in a statement.
Loeffler also announced that the administration will institute a citizenship verification policy that will force lenders to confirm that applying businesses are not owned in whole or in part by someone who is in the country illegally.
Local
The news comes just one day after Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, New York Mayor Eric Adams, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston testified before the House Oversight and Government Reform committee over the policies of their cities limiting when local police can cooperate with federal immigration enforcement actions.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter.
The policy prohibits city officials from asking about immigration status or disclosing that information to federal authorities. City services also cannot be denied to an individual based on immigration status.
Illinois law prohibits police from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement efforts in civil immigration cases, but do not prevent such cooperation in criminal cases where there is a federal warrant issued.
The Justice Department has filed lawsuits over these policies, alleging they violate Trump’s executive orders declaring a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border, but courts have repeatedly upheld the legality of sanctuary laws, according to NBC News.
During Johnson’s testimony, he accused Republicans of “grandstanding” on immigration as an issue.
“We know there are myths about these laws. But we must not let mischaracterizations and fearmongering obscure the reality that Chicago’s crime rates are trending down,” Johnson said. “We still have a long way to go, but sensationalizing tragedy in the name of political expediency is not governing. It’s grandstanding.”
Rep. James Comer, the chair of the committee, blasted mayors of the four cities for what he called obstruction of the Trump administration’s efforts to curtail border crossings. He has called for eliminating federal funding to cities and jurisdictions that have “sanctuary city” policies on the books, but such an action would require Congressional approval.
