Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson shared how he really felt about border czar Tom Homan threatening to prosecute him if he gets in the way of ICE deportation raids in an interview on Thursday.
During CNN’s podcast, “The Assignment With Audie Cornish,” the Democratic mayor told host Audie Cornish that he would not allow local police to enforce ICE deportation orders and ripped Homan for threatening to prosecute him if Johnson doesn’t cooperate.
“Well, what I find it to be is reprehensible, to be perfectly frank with you. You know, the city of Chicago has shown up for this country time and time again,” the mayor declared.
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Days prior to President Donald Trump’s inauguration, Homan told a group of Chicago Republicans, “We’re going to start right here in Chicago, Illinois. If your Chicago mayor doesn’t want to help, he can step aside. But if he impedes us—if he knowingly harbors or conceals an illegal alien–I will prosecute him.”
During the CNN interview, Cornish pressed Johnson about this threat, asking him if he believes his “migrant-friendly policies” have put him in the crosshairs of Homan and the Trump administration.
The mayor defended his policies, saying they simply prevent local law enforcement from behaving like ICE agents, but maintained that the city is open to cooperating with the federal government in other areas.
“So for 40 years, the city of Chicago has had a welcoming city policy. And what that policy just simply states is that our local law enforcement will not dub as federal agents,” he said. “Essentially, we’re not going to stand in the way and impede cooperation with the federal agencies because we do cooperate with them on a regular basis.”
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Johnson continued, “We’re just not going to have our local law enforcement behave as ICE agents, because what it does is simply breaks down the trust between community members and law enforcement, local law enforcement, and there’s enough for them to do already.”
Throughout his time as mayor, Johnson has reaffirmed his city’s sanctuary status and expressed opposition to working with federal law enforcement to clean up illegal immigration.
In preparation for the incoming Trump administration’s crackdown, his office released guidelines in January for how locals should respond if ICE enters city property.
“Contact your agency or department’s designated attorney or general counsel for further guidance. Contact the highest ranking official or designated supervisor onsite and do not take any action until that person arrives,” the guidelines advised.
They added that people should demand copies of warrants, not to consent to ICE entering “any private or ‘sensitive’ locations,” but not to interfere with any search, even if refused. There are further recommendations, including taking notes and keeping contemporaneous written records.
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More recently, the mayor defended his sanctuary city policies during a House Oversight Committee hearing, saying that they keep the city safer.
“Any actions that amplify fears of deportations makes Chicago more dangerous,” Johnson said to lawmakers. “Those fears cause witnesses and victims to avoid cooperating with police. The cooperation of all people, regardless of their immigration status, is essential to achieving the city’s goals of reducing crime and pursuing justice for victims.”
During the podcast, Johnson told Cornish, “And what we’re simply asking from the federal government is to recognize the beauty and the value that cities across America bring. My responsibility in this moment is to show up for the people of Chicago, even when the federal government dismisses working people.”
He pushed back against Trump’s and Homan’s criticism of Chicago’s sanctuary policies once more, stating, “if the federal government and the Trump administration, in particular, wants to have animus in disdain towards the people of Chicago and the things at work, of course, we’re going to resist that.”
Johnson added that his government is “not impeding” feds looking to deport criminal illegal immigrants, and reiterated Chicago law enforcement will cooperate with them so long as they show up with “a criminal, valid warrant.”
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