Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling said more than 100 people had been taken into custody by federal officials in the past few days in the city and suburbs, but he urged people not to be afraid to show up for work or school. NBC 5’s Bennett Haeberle reports.
CHICAGO – During a Tuesday morning news conference, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson criticized the Trump administration’s ongoing immigration enforcement efforts that began in earnest over the weekend, saying he believes there is an effort “to stoke fear in the American people.”
“The Welcoming City Ordinance is a law and it is the law of the land here in Chicago,” Johnsons aid. “We will uphold it along with the… Illinois Trust Act to ensure that our immigrant communities are safe.”
He later added that the city has put together a “Know Your Rights” guide for immigrants and their families who may have questions about ICE enforcement efforts.
“We stand together firmly in our welcoming city status, as well as our commitment to protecting all residents of the City of Chicago, no matter where you come from or how long you've lived here,” Johnson said.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE agents arrested more than 100 people in recent days, according to Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling, who acknowledged that he could not provide an exact figure.
An ICE spokesman did not return repeated calls seeking clarity from NBC 5 Investigates Tuesday.
ICE has, however, posted daily updates on social media in recent days about what it called its targeted enforcement efforts in Chicago and other U.S. cities – noting that there were at least 1179 arrests confirmed early Monday.
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Citing a senior Trump administration official, NBC News reported that 52 percent of those 1179 were considered “criminal arrest” – meaning the other half were those who did not have criminal records or were considered non-violent offenders.
President Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to increased mass deportations and the increased arrests and enforcement efforts by ICE illustrate a commitment to Trump’s campaign promise. His border czar, Tom Homan, told supporters in early December during a stop in Chicago that the city would be a target of enforcement efforts.
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Snelling told reporters that he had general awareness of what ICE operations were going to be within the city, but was not privy to the exact information. Under the city’s welcoming city ordinance and the Illinois Trust Act, local law enforcement are precluded from assisting ICE with their operations.
“We would like more information if we could get it. But again, as an agent of law enforcement, we understand why some information can't be shared, so I'm going to respect that. However, what I can tell you is what we're seeing right now at the time, and the information that we're getting from the agency and right now the information that we're getting is that the focus is on people who have criminal convictions. Any other information beyond that, you would have to seek from the agency themselves,” Snelling told reporters.
ICE has also singled out individuals online – including Adan Pablo Ramirez – who the feds allege was arrested January 2 in Chicago with two previous DUI convictions and an existing removal order from 2019.
NBC 5 Investigates found he is being held at a jail in northern Kentucky that serves as one of a handful of ICE detention facilities for the Chicago field office.
A captain at that jail could not say how many of their ICE arrestees came from Chicago or from other areas, but we found names of other individuals being held on ICE detainers.