OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
1:03 PM – Saturday, January 31, 2026
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signed the “ICE On Notice” executive order to increase oversight of federal immigration enforcement and potentially prosecute agents who break the law while conducting operations in the city.
The mayor’s press office released a statement on Saturday explaining that the executive order (EO) would direct members of the Chicago Police Department (CPD) to investigate and document any alleged illegal activity by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in the city and refer evidence to the Cook County State Attorney’s Office for prosecution.
The EO makes Chicago the first city in the United States to use local authorities to impose legal accountability on federal immigration enforcement officers.
It comes at a time of heightened tensions and anti-ICE sentiment after thousands of federal personnel were deployed by President Donald Trump’s administration to Minnesota after rampant fraud was traced back to the Somali community. This sparked protests across Minneapolis, where two civilian protesters, Renee Good and Alex Pretti — both mentioned by name in the press release — were fatally shot by federal agents while allegedly resisting orders.
“There is no such thing as ‘absolute immunity’ in America,” said Johnson. “The lawlessness of Trump’s militarized immigration agents puts the lives and well-being of every Chicagoan in immediate danger. With today’s order, we are putting ICE on notice in our city. Chicago will not sit idly by while Trump floods federal agents into our communities and terrorizes our residents.”
The mayor claimed in his statement that federal immigration officers “have violated constitutionally protected rights, destabilized communities, and provoked life-threatening confrontations.”
The new procedure that CPD personnel are instructed to follow if they observe apparent violations of the law by federal agents includes:
- Document federal enforcement activities in accordance with CPD policy;
- Ensure that any body-camera footage captured during the incident—including footage of any use of force, detentions, injuries, or other enforcement activity—is preserved;
- Seek to identify the federal supervisory officer on scene, attempt to verify the supervisory officer’s name and badge number, and record the credential verification using body-cameras—including any refusal to comply;
- Complete a report on any violation of state or local law by federal agents consistent with CPD policy;
- Immediately summon emergency medical services and render aid to any injured person on the scene.
“The order comes amid reports the federal government is planning another immigration surge in Chicago and the surrounding area later this spring,” the mayor’s office reported.
Several other Democrats have pushed for tighter restrictions and oversight for immigration officers, including Representatives Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.), who introduced the proposed ICE OUT Act, which would remove qualified immunity protections for ICE agents.
The Senate is also debating immigration enforcement reform, having approved a two-week stopgap measure to keep the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funded at its current levels while they hash out new policies and funding arrangements for a potential full-year bill.
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