Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel announced a new ordinance that
he intends to propose in Chicago that would prevent police officers from turning
over undocumented immigrants to federal agents unless the immigrant has an
outstanding criminal warrant or a serious criminal conviction. The New York Times notes that Cook County,
IL, which is governed separately from the City of Chicago, was under fire
recently from ICE Director John Morton because of its own “sanctuary” law that
bars the detaining of undocumented immigrants in order to turn them over to
federal agents unless “federal agents have a specific warrant. “ The Times article notes that even though the
purpose behind this proposed ordinance is pretty much directly opposite of the attrition
focus of Arizona’s SB1070 which the White House has opposed and the Supreme
Court limited in its recent decision, it could still be viewed as an
infringement of the federal government’s immigration enforcement powers. Director Morton, in his testimony before a
House of Representatives subcommittee stated that he is “quite confident that
[Cook County’s] approach is ultimately going to lead to additional crimes in
Cook County that would have been prevented.”
However, Mayor Emmanuel, facing a homicide rate that has increased by
39% from a year ago, believes that the ordinance would encourage community
cooperation between the police and the immigrant community as it would ease
their fears of deportation.
It remains to be seen how the Obama administration will deal
with this challenge to its immigration authority, but it is refreshing to see
local governments taking a stand against the fear-of-the-immigrant and
attrition policies popularized by bills similar to SB1070. Illinois is also one of two states that has
resisted ICE’s Secure Communities implementation thus far.
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