Leaders in Chicago and New York are promising their refusal to comply with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deportation raids.
New York Attorney General Letitia James and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said they will not assist ICE with their efforts in the deportation raids, which were later delayed to weeks and could start next month pending actions from Congress, PIX11 reported.
James argued that “President Trump’s use of migrant families and asylum seekers as political punching bags is a despicable act of racism and xenophobia that is antithetical to our basic human values,” in a statement obtained by PIX11
“The president has threatened to begin raids in New York and across the country this weekend in an effort to round up thousands of migrant families. This is an immoral and unconscionable act by a president and an Administration hell-bent on dividing our country, and, as New York’s top law enforcement officer, I can assure New Yorkers we will do everything in our power to fight back against these inhumane policies,” she added in the statement.
President Trump’s ordered ICE raid was slated to begin on Sunday to apprehend some 2,000 illegal aliens in 10 major cities, but he delayed the plan per Democrats’ request. Congress now has two weeks to pass a plan or the raids will begin.
At the request of Democrats, I have delayed the Illegal Immigration Removal Process (Deportation) for two weeks to see if the Democrats and Republicans can get together and work out a solution to the Asylum and Loophole problems at the Southern Border. If not, Deportations start!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 22, 2019
New York’s Gov. Andrew Cuomo followed suit and pledged to protect illegal immigrants from the impending raids.
“The Trump Administration’s impending blitz of ICE raids across the country, including here in New York, is shameful and wholly unacceptable, and we will fight back at every turn to protect our immigrant families. As I’ve said before, if there is a move to deport immigrants then I say start with me — a son of immigrants,” Cuomo said in a statement.
Cities with sanctuary policies will also not comply with ICE raids, CNBC reported.
Lightfoot said in a tweet on Friday, “Chicago has taken concrete steps to support our immigrant communities. Chicago will always be a welcoming city and a champion for the rights of our immigrant and refugee communities, and I encourage any resident in need of legal aid to contact the National Immigrant Justice Center.”
In a tweet, Lightfoot said she directed the Chicago Police Department to terminate “ICE’s access to CPD’s databases related to federal immigration enforcement activities.”
2/ I have directed – and Superintendent Johnson has confirmed – that CPD has terminated ICE’s access to CPD’s databases related to federal immigration enforcement activities.
— Mayor Lori Lightfoot (@chicagosmayor) June 21, 2019
Lightfoot additionally said she personally informed ICE leadership that the Chicago Police Department “will not cooperate with or facilitate any ICE enforcement actions.”
4/ Chicago will always be a welcoming city and a champion for the rights of our immigrant and refugee communities, and I encourage any resident in need of legal aid to contact the National Immigrant Justice Center (@NIJC). More info here: https://t.co/NTMAmhmBbn
— Mayor Lori Lightfoot (@chicagosmayor) June 21, 2019
New York and Chicago are not the only focus of the President’s plan. The top 10 cities with the biggest immigrant populations are part of the planned sweep, including Houston, Miami, and Los Angeles.
