Illinois Dem Governor Says He Will NOT Cooperate With ICE on Trump’s “Mass Deportations”

As Donald Trump embarks on his second term, he says his plan to deport millions of illegal migrants will start on “Day One,” and the once and future President says that Chicago will be “ground zero” for the start of the mass deportations.

In response, Democratic Illinois Governor JB Pritzker says he will not cooperate with ICE agents who come into his state to round up illegals, and cities like Chicago will maintain their sanctuary status. Pritzker indicated he would oppose any Trump policies that hurt Illinoisians at risk.

“To anyone who intends to come, take away the freedom and opportunity and dignity of Illinoisians, I would remind you that a happy warrior is still a warrior,” Pritzker said. “You come for my people; you come through me.” 

The Governor is not alone. Leftist lawmakers throughout his state, especially in predominantly Latin communities, have vowed to stand up for their constituents against President Donald Trump’s mass deportation plans.

Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch said the state will create legislation in response to any federal legislation that would target immigrants but didn’t mention concrete measures. “We have proven for over 206 years to be a welcoming state,” Welch said in an interview. “We are going to continue to protect the values of Illinoisians. If we need to respond to what the Trump administration does, we will be prepared to do that.”

Illinois lawmakers passed the Illinois TRUST Act in 2017, which restricts most of the local law enforcement agency’s ability to work with ICE and its amendment. In 2021, legislators also passed the Way Forward Act, which provides worker security for DACA recipients, prohibits ICE from holding detained migrants in Illinois, and prohibits contracts with detention centers in Illinois. Since then, lawmakers have focused on expanding bills such as the Human Rights Act to protect immigrants from employment discrimination due to status and the Illinois Identification Card Act to allow undocumented immigrants to obtain a driver’s license.

Chicago, specifically mentioned as a target by Trump, along with NYC and Denver, has been a “sanctuary city” since 1982, when then-mayor Harold Washington signed an executive order prohibiting City workers from assisting immigration investigations. In 2006, the City Council codified its status by passing the Welcoming City ordinance, which was revised and expanded in 2011 and 2021. The law prevents the City from requesting immigration status, providing people’s immigration status to authorities, or withholding resources from someone due to them being undocumented.

However, in other so-called sanctuary cities, it seems that even Democrats are coming to realize the threat posed by the overwhelming numbers of illegal migrants in the country. Some are now willing to work more closely with his administration on a top priority or tamp down their rhetoric.

In Philadelphia, Mayor Cherelle Parker and District Attorney Larry Krasner, both Democrats, seem to have shied away from some of the rhetoric celebrating the city as a sanctuary — as well as the oppositional approach city officials took in the past.

Asked whether he still considered Philadelphia a sanctuary city, Krasner did not directly answer.

“Sanctuary city can mean a lot of things, and so that whole discussion can get confusing and maybe generate more heat than light,” he said in an interview with NBC News. Krasner said Philadelphia was a “city of brotherhood, of love, of sisterly affection, where we respect and support our immigrant neighbors who are hardworking and are law-abiding and are contributing to our society.”

Adding, however, “To the extent that ICE has the legal right to do things, obviously we will not interfere.”