FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMMITTEE ON IMMIGRANT AND REFUGEE RIGHTS TO HOST HEARING ON CPD INVOLVEMENT IN SURPRISE JUNE 4TH 2025 FEDERAL IMMIGRATION DETENTION
June 25, 2025
CHICAGO, IL – On June 4th, 2025, Chicago saw an alarming escalation in the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents mass detained residents at an immigration office at 2245 S. Michigan Avenue. Immigrants who had been lured under false pretenses, believing they were there for a routine check-in, were detained, separated from their attorneys, and ultimately ripped from their families. Community members and elected officials who peacefully protested these unlawful detentions were met with violence from masked ICE agents.
While on the scene, community members—including elected officials and staff from the Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights—also witnessed CPD officers blocking off streets, appearing to stand guard for ICE vehicles, and accompanying ICE agents in and out of the building.
The Welcoming City Ordinance sets clear parameters that prohibit CPD from providing on-site support to assist in civil immigration enforcement operations, including setting up traffic perimeters. Following reports of CPD’s involvement in the incident, Chair Vasquez introduced an order (Or2025-0017810) calling for the Chicago Police Department (CPD), the Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC), and the Mayor’s Office to provide information on any communications related to CPD’s presence at 2245 S. Michigan Avenue on June 4th, to determine whether they may have violated the Welcoming City Ordinance.
The Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights will hold a hearing on July 1, 2025 to examine CPD’s involvement in the incident and their protocols for ICE enforcement operations. Representatives from CPD, the Office of the Inspector General, the Mayor’s Office and OEMC have been invited to testify.
“In this moment of unprecedented and unlawful detentions of immigrant Chicagoans—the majority of whom have committed no crime—we have to make sure we are doing everything we can to uphold the values of our city as represented in the Welcoming City Ordinance,” said Chair Vasquez. “This incident represents a learning opportunity for us to examine CPD’s protocols and ensure that we are upholding our city’s laws and values as we continue to weather these attacks from ICE and President Trump.”
The hearing will take place on July 1st at 10am at City Hall, 121 N. LaSalle, 2nd Floor City Council Chambers.