08/30/2025 — WHAT WE’VE HEARD TODAY
This morning, Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order establishing the “Protecting Chicago Initiative.”
Johnson told reporters that his office has received intelligence that the federal government, under the directive of President Donald Trump, is planning to deploy a “massive” number of federal agents to Chicago as early as Friday, Sept. 5.
There are multiple media reports of the White House planning to use a north suburban naval base to house Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customers and Border Protection agents.
According to a city press release, the executive order, “Protect Chicago Initiative,” is the culmination of months of planning between various city departments.
“The order demands that President Donald Trump stand down from his threat to deploy National Guard personnel to Chicago and affirms that Chicago Police Department (CPD) will remain a locally controlled law enforcement agency under the authority of the City of Chicago and Mayor Johnson,” the press release reads.
Some highlights from the executive order are:
- Mayor Johnson’s executive order urges all federal law enforcement and U.S. armed forces commanding offices and personnel who may be ordered to operate in Chicago adhere to the following policies and operational requirements CPD officers uphold everyday:
- In Chicago, law enforcement cannot wear any mask, covering, or disguise intended to conceal their identities from the public while performing their official duties.
- Personnel must legally wear body cameras and activate those cameras during all law enforcement-related activities during which the officer is interacting with a member of the public.
- Personnel must legally display identifying information in a clearly visible fashion. This should include the name of the federal agency, last name, and badge number of the federal law enforcement officer, or the armed forces member’s last name and rank, respectively.
- The order reaffirms that all sworn CPD members, when engaged in any policing, crowd-control, or public-safety operations, must wear standard-issues uniforms or outer garments that clearly and conspicuously identify them as CPD officers. This requirement ensures that Chicago residents can readily distinguish CPD officers from federal law enforcement agents or members of the U.S. Armed Forces.
- The Mayor’s Office for Immigrant, Migrant, and Refugee Rights is reaffirming its efforts to ensure every Chicagoan and every family, regardless of their immigration status, are aware of the rights they have when interacting with federal law enforcement.
- The Mayor’s Office is launching a Family Preparedness campaign in multiple languages which aims to educate families on how to prepare in the event of a detention by federal agents.
- The Mayor’s Office is committed to sharing updated information with the public regarding potential National Guard and/or militarized immigration enforcement as it becomes available.
The full executive order can be read here.
Click on our stories below to learn more about Chicago’s response to Trump’s threats to send in troops and federal agents.
