Immigration advocates and attorneys are sounding the alarm about an ordinance that would allow Chicago police to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement, saying the one-page proposal would open the door to constitutional rights violations and legal challenges that could leave taxpayers on the hook for multimillion-dollar settlements.
The ordinance that Alds. Raymond Lopez, 15th Ward, and Silvana Tabares, 23rd Ward, are attempting to resurrect at next week’s City Council meeting ahead of former President Donald Trump’s inauguration would also have a chilling effect on immigrant communities, leading to an erosion of trust and less cooperation with law enforcement, advocates warned.
“No one should be afraid to call 911,” said Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, 35th Ward. “If you are an immigrant woman, or you are a woman with an immigrant family member, and you’re a victim of domestic violence, you’re more likely to pick up the phone and call police and report your abuser if you know that under no case, no exception, will that call result in you or a loved one being turned over to ICE.”…