UPDATE Jan. 28, 2026: The Chicago City Council’s Immigrant and Refugee Rights and Police and Fire committee members voted to advance a proposed amendment that would expand the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) powers to include investigating Chicago police for violations of the city’s Welcoming City Ordinance. Ald. Jessie Fuentes (26th Ward) is the lead sponsor of the amendment.
“This is an ordinance to hold those accountable who collaborate with ICE [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)] and violate our Welcoming City Ordinance,” Fuentes said ahead of yesterday’s joint committee vote.
The full City Council body will consider the proposed amendment at the next meeting, which is set for Feb. 18.
Just days after Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse, was shot and killed by a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Minnesota, elected leaders in the Chicago City Council and Illinois delegates in Congress are crafting legislation and strategizing for the unknown yet expected return of federal immigration agents to the Chicagoland area.
Pretti, 37, a Minneapolis resident and ICU nurse, was fatally shot on Jan. 24 by federal agents. In their narrative of events, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated Pretti was armed and the agent fired in self-defense. Minneapolis police Chief Brian O’Hara told reporters that Pretti was a “lawful gun owner” with a permit.
However, witness footage that began circulating on social media shortly after the shooting contradicts the DHS’s account. DHS has, and federal agents have also lied in narratives about past shootings, including the killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis earlier this month and Silverio Villegas González in a suburb outside of Chicago in the fall.
In the aftermath of Pretti’s death, U.S. Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino has reportedly been removed from his role as “commander at large” of the agency and is expected to leave Minnesota, and Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, will now lead the immigration operation known as “Operation Metro Surge.” At the same time, the calls to impeach Kristi Noem, the Secretary of the DHS, are growing, as are calls to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th Ward) said ICE should no longer be in existence during a Tuesday morning press conference at City Hall. Ald. Jessie Fuentes (26th Ward) echoed that sentiment.
“I mean, look, Greg Bovino being demoted. Great. He’s not the leading actor here. You have Donald Trump in office. You still have Stephen Miller pulling all of the strings and creating the violence and sort of the escalation and tactics that we’re seeing across sanctuary cities in this country,” Fuentes said, referring to Trump’s security advisor. “So until—to Ald. Vasquez’s point—until we abolish ICE, until we completely uproot the system that has been meant and designed to harm people, any measure by the White House outside of that, it’s just not enough.”
Fuentes is sponsoring an amendment to the city’s Welcoming City Ordinance that clarifies the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA)’s powers and designates the oversight agency to investigate Chicago Police Department (CPD) violations of the Welcoming City Ordinance. They were joined by Beatriz Ponce de León, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s deputy mayor of Immigrant, Migrant and Refugee Rights, Ald. Michael Rodriguez (22nd Ward) and seven Police District Councilors.
“We’re grateful for [mayor] Harold Washington for bringing it about, and we’ve constantly fought, including in this term and with these members, to strengthen it and to fortify it and protect it,” Vasquez said, referring to the Welcoming City Ordinance. “But what’s also a reality is that it is ambiguous in how it holds anyone accountable. It does not clarify what the guidelines should look like. It does not clarify what accountability should look like, or what penalties should exist if someone is violating it.”
The Welcoming City Ordinance prevents the Chicago Police Department (CPD) from cooperating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to enforce federal immigration laws. Then there’s state laws like the Illinois Trust Act and the Keep Illinois Families Together Act. Both laws make Illinois a sanctuary state and also prevent local law enforcement agencies from working with federal immigration officials.
The push for this amendment follows a council hearing from last July, where Vasquez and other council members sought to investigate the CPD’s role during a mass detention incident in June 2025, where federal agents detained at least 10 people who were told to check in for an immigration appointment.
The amendment is expected to be voted on during today’s joint committee meeting, which is now underway. The meeting can be accessed here.
Following the press conference, Ald. Rossana Rodriguez Sánchez (33rd Ward), who chairs the council’s Health and Human Relations Committee, held a two-hour subject-matter hearing. The hearing featured testimony from Eliott Payne, president of the Minneapolis City Council; Hwa Jeong Kim, a St. Paul City Councilmember and local organizer; and Amanda Otero, from Take Action Minnesota, about their firsthand accounts and the tactics that federal immigration agents are employing as they continue carrying out their immigration operation in Minnesota. It was also an opportunity for elected leaders from each city to share resources and strategies as Chicago prepares for an unknown return of federal agents.
At the federal level, U.S. Reps. Delia Ramirez (IL-03) and Robin Kelly (IL-02) have both introduced separate pieces of legislation to curb DHS’s powers. Ramirez introduced the Melt ICE Act, which would end DHS funding to detain or monitor immigrants and “cripple” the agency’s immigration enforcement.
Ramirez highlighted the Melt ICE Act during a separate press conference at the LoSAH Center of Hope on Jan. 27 alongside Illinois Senator Graciela Guzman (D-24) and State Rep. Lilian Jimenéz (D-4), Cook County Commissioner Jessica Vásquez and community and labor union leaders.
“Our taxpayer dollars must not be used to terrorize our communities and violate our rights. The Melt ICE Act is a line in the sand and a declaration that we will not fuel human suffering,” Ramirez said.
Congress recently announced an appropriations bill to fund DHS, including $3.84 billion for ICE custody operations. It would also increase funding for enforcement and removal operations to $5.45 billion.
On Jan. 14, Kelly filed articles of impeachment against Noem to remove her from office.
“I’ve had enough. She has turned ICE into a rogue force, violating the Constitution, tearing families apart, and leaving death in her wake,” Kelly said in a statement. “From Chicago to Minneapolis, her recklessness cost lives, including Renee Nicole Good. This isn’t just dangerous—it’s impeachable. I’m fighting back.”
