Memo Instructs Chicago Police Officers to Not Cooperate with Immigration Arrests

U.S. agents carry out an operation to arrest illegal immigrants in New York on Sept. 26, 2019. (ICE)

According to an internal department memo obtained by Fox News, the Chicago Police Department advised their officers not to cooperate with the Department of Homeland Security, in situations involving immigration arrests.

The memo said, instead of assisting DHS, officers are instructed to wait for their supervisor to arrive. “If the request is to assist with an immigration arrest or detention, CPD personnel will leave the scene as directed by the CPD supervisor.”

Chicago police sources told Fox News that historically officers have assisted federal agents and this new policy could put CPD and DHS agents in dangerous situations.

“See what happens when a DHS agent is injured because of a lack of response by CPD. Sickening what’s happening here,” a ranking CPD source told Fox News.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has made it a policy of her administration to undermine the efforts of the DHS and ICE.

In July of this year, she said that the Chicago police department would not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain residents or allow them access to their police database for any upcoming ICE raids.

Lightfoot said to the public, “they [the Chicago police] will not team up with ICE to detain any resident. We have also cut off ICE from access from any CPD databases, and that will remain permanent.”

Chicago became a sanctuary city in 2012 when Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the City Council passed the Welcoming City Ordinance. The Ordinance protects residents’ rights to access city services regardless of immigration status and states that Chicago police officers cannot arrest individuals based on immigration status alone.

At an immigration rally on Sept. 26, Lightfoot denounced ICE and said that it was the “political arm” of the Trump campaign.

“We will never, ever succumb to the racist, xenophobic rhetoric of ICE,” Lightfoot said. “We will continue to ban ICE from having access to any CPD databases. We'll not allow any CPD officer to cooperate with anything related to ICE and its immigration raids.”

Police sources told Fox News the new policy “de-legitimizes” Chicago police.

The newly appointed Chicago field office director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Chicago, Robert Guadian held a press conference on Sept. 26. He addressed his department’s role in the community and urged local and state officials to put public safety first.

Guadian told reporters. “I would prefer to make my arrests inside the secure confines of a county jail as opposed to out in the community, out in a public space like a pizzeria or like a home or like a place of business.”

Guadian said that sanctuary policies undermine public security.

Meanwhile, outside of ICE’s Chicago office, Lightfoot stood with a group of immigration activists and called Guadian’s criticism of the city’s sanctuary ordinance “nonsense.”

“Of course we know that we’ve hurt (ICE agents) and hurt their ability to do their job here in the city, but so be it,” Lightfoot told protesters “That’s the point.”

“My message is simple: Challenge your community leaders to stop putting politics ahead of public safety and allow your jail to honor ICE immigration detainers,” Guadian said.