CPD will not cooperate with planned ICE raids, Lightfoot says

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Friday that the Chicago Police Department will not cooperate with planned raids by the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency this weekend.

"We are all aware of the threat from President Trump regarding raids by ICE, and in response, Chicago has taken concrete steps to support our immigrant communities," Lightfoot said in a statement.

City officials estimate that there are tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants living in Chicago, protected by sanctuary laws. Governor Pritzker signed two bills earlier Friday making it illegal for groups to establish detention centers or local law enforcement from making agreements with ICE.

Lightfoot said Chicago police have terminated ICE's access to CPD's databases related to federal immigration enforcement activities. She has also instructed CPD not to cooperate with or facilitate any ICE enforcement actions.

"Chicago will always be a welcoming city and a champion for the rights of our immigrant and refugee communities," she said.

Lightfoot will appear on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert Friday night, though it's unclear if she'll discuss the planned raids or the city's reaction to them.

Mark Morgan, ICE acting director, told ABC News on Friday that the agency plans to arrest more than 2,040 undocumented family members in 10 major across the country including Chicago, adding that "there has to be consequences" to entering the United States illegally.

"Right now, the greatest pull factors for families to come here is they know that once they arrive in the U.S., they remain here untouched," Morgan said. "We have to change that."

The people ICE agents are targeting this weekend have already received deportation orders, officials said.

This comes after President Donald Trump announced in a tweet that ICE agents will "begin the process of removing the millions of illegal aliens who have illicitly found their way into the United States."

Aldermen who represent communities with large immigrant populations said they've heard from rattled constituents that they're canceling medical appointments and weekend plans for fear of being detained by ICE officials.

"I don't know how exactly we're going to make it through this, but I know very well that I have a lot of family members who are scared," said Andrew Alvarado, an Albany Park resident whose relatives emigrated from Central America. "My mother is currently trying to get my father papers through marriage. She became a citizen before he did."

Several aldermen have mobilized to make sure constituents are aware of their rights when confronted by an immigration official.

"You have a right not to open door to ice agents unless they have a warrant signed by a judge," said Alderman Carlos Ramirez Rosa, who represents the 35th Ward.

"We believe that one immigrant that is taken from our community is way too many," said Alderman Rossana Rodriguez, of the 33rd Ward.