CITY HALL — A police oversight body would be made responsible for investigating if Chicago police helped immigration agents under a proposed ordinance that’s headed to the City Council.
The city’s Immigrant and Refugee Rights and Police and Fire committees approved the ordinance Tuesday during a joint session, sending it to the full council. If passed, the ordinance would expand the duties of the Civilian Office for Police Accountability. It was introduced by Ald. Jessie Fuentes (26th) in September.
With the change, the Civilian Office for Police Accountability would be responsible for investigating whether police helped immigration agents in violation of Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance.
Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th), who leads the immigration committee, said the change is needed because the city has failed to investigate multiple allegations of police helping ICE agents, starting with a June 4 immigration raid in the South Loop.
“This administrative fix is what is going to continue to build and restore trust in a moment when the federal government is creating fear and abusing power,” said Fuentes, who was handcuffed by immigration agents in a hospital in October.
City Council members discuss a proposed ordinance to expand COPA’s duties so the oversight body can investigate whether police helped immigration authorities at a Jan. 27, 2025, joint meeting held by the city’s immigration and police and fire committees. Credit: City of Chicago
Beatriz Ponce De León, the deputy mayor of immigrant, migrant and refugee rights, told alderpeople Tuesday that Mayor Brandon Johnson backs the proposed ordinance. Lakenya White, the Civilian Office for Police Accountability’s interim chief administrator, also said her agency was in favor of taking the lead on such investigations.
“COPA is prepared to immediately begin administrative investigations for all future complaints containing allegations of this type,” White said.
White said the Civilian Office for Police Accountability had received 28 complaints of potential Welcoming City Ordinance violations since June. Of those complaints, 22 have been referred to the Police Department’s internal affairs bureau, and two have been shared with the Office of the Inspector General, she said.
This summer, officials first debated who should investigate allegations of collaboration between police and immigration authorities, discussing whether the responsibility fell on the Office of the Inspector General or the civilian review board.
The Mayor’s Office previously recommended that the Civilian Office for Police Accountability investigate such allegations after several City Council members and local groups pushed for a review of the Police Department’s response to the June 4 South Loop arrests. That day, ICE agents arrested at least 10 people at a South Loop immigration facility, leading to clashes between federal agents, organizers and elected officials.
Police Supt. Larry Snelling, who did not attend Tuesday’s meeting, said in a statement shared with the committees that the Police Department supports the proposed ordinance, which will “further transparency” around Chicago police and its interactions with immigration authorities. Police have responded to calls for service from federal immigration agents solely to deescalate and ensure public safety, Snelling said in the statement.
If passed by the full City Council, the ordinance will help provide neighbors with transparency and accountability about if police helped ICE, Vasquez said.
Ald. Jessie Fuentes (26th) speaks during a City Council meeting on May 21, 2025. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Only after pushing for records and an internal review did the city’s immigration committee obtain body-camera footage from the June 4 raid, Vasquez said. Some of those videos show police advising Department of Homeland Security and ICE officials on how to transport detained people, Vasquez said.
“There was some level of what can be understood as cooperation,” Vasquez said.
Chicagoans have for months criticized how city police have interacted with federal agents. Hundreds of people packed a special hearing this month to demand the city hold the Police Department accountable for any violations of the Welcoming City ordinance.
“What we heard was pain. What we heard was fear. People do not feel safe. People do not feel that CPD is on their side,” Leonardo Quintero, police district councilor for the 12th district, said at a press conference Tuesday.
Several Chicagoans on Tuesday said they still want answers over the June 4 incident and other interactions between police and immigration agents during Operation Midway Blitz.
Neighbors called on the city to ensure investigations are completed and sanctions applied to police officers who violate the city’s sanctuary policy.
“We need to remove the loophole that allows these violations to be handled quietly through internal discipline,” Emma Miele, of Little Village, said during the committee meeting’s public comment session Tuesday.
While Chicago’s welcoming city ordinance sets limits on how city officials can cooperate with federal agents, it is “ambiguous in how it holds anyone accountable,” Vasquez said Tuesday at a press conference.
“It does not clarify what accountability should look like or what penalties should exist if someone is violating it,” he said.
Last year, the immigration committee created an online form where neighbors can submit reports of potential violations of the sanctuary policy, Vasquez said. The committee as received 11 complaints, seven of those related to police, Vasquez said. The committee refers those to the appropriate investigative agency, he said.
When the Civilian Office for Police Accountability investigates allegations of police helping immigration officials, it will follow its procedures for police misconduct investigations, which call for releasing some records to the public, White said. The Office of the Inspector General is in charge of investigating potential violations of the Welcoming City Ordinance by all other city departments, said Inspector General Deborah Witzburg.
The change is “just one step” toward accountability as city officials continue to explore ways to strengthen the city’s sanctuary policies amid the threat of another large-scale immigration operation this spring, Fuentes said.
“We have a lot more work to do. We have to prepare, and if we’re truly going to live by our values, then there should be subsequent legislation,” Fuentes said.
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