This morning, Mayor Brandon Johnson signed “ICE On Notice,” an executive order that instructs Chicago police to investigate alleged illegal activity by federal immigration agents and send evidence of possible felonies to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.
“No matter what the Vice President [JD Vance] or the president [Donald Trump] says, there’s no such thing as absolute immunity in America,” Johnson said.
Joined at City Hall by City Council members, city leaders and community organizers, the mayor said the executive order known as Executive Order 2026-01 is meant to prepare for the uncertain but anticipated return of federal immigration agents to the Chicagoland area.
“They don’t care about public safety, they don’t care about citizenship status, they don’t care about due process. They don’t even care about immigration. These federal agents are undermining the trust in law enforcement that we have been working really hard to rebuild over the past three years,” Johnson continued. “These rogue federal agents are taking us backwards as a city. They are causing chaos and confusion. In response, the city of Chicago must respond with accountability and transparency. The ‘ICE On Notice’ executive order is a step towards justice.”
He added that the executive order will make Chicago the first city in the U.S. “to set the groundwork to prosecute U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Border Patrol agents for criminal misconduct.”
“This is a historic executive order and a win for the people’s struggle against law enforcement brutality. However, we must ensure this Order is ENFORCED and hold CPD accountable for seeing it through,” The Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression said in a press statement. “Words without enforcement are just that, words. We must hold the line on our demands to CCPSA and continue to pressure Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke to prosecute the ICE agents who murdered Silverio Villegas Gonzalez in September 2025.”
Here’s what it all means. According to the executive order, if Chicago police observe or receive reports of violations of state or local law by federal agents, they will:
- 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.
Since they were deployed to Chicago in September 2025, federal agents shot and killed Silverio Villegas González. Federal agents were captured on video “choking” a Black man following a car crash on the West Side, conducted raids at a majority-Black apartment complex in South Shore and a homeless shelter in Bronzeville. Federal agents also deployed teargas dozens of times citywide.
Today’s news also comes as the Donald J. Trump administration continues its onslaught of federal immigration occupations actions across Minneapolis, Memphis, Los Angeles, Chicago, and elsewhere in the U.S.
Within the last month, federal agents fatally shot three U.S. citizens: Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis and Keith Porter Jr. in Los Angeles.
Johnson, while fielding questions from reporters, said the executive order was created in collaboration with Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke and the Chicago Police Department.
“The State’s Attorney, her office is in complete support of this executive order. In fact, what she has said repeatedly is the reason why she has not moved forward with prosecution is because no evidence has been provided to her,” Johnson said, referring to O’Neill Burke. “Our office worked closely in collaboration with the State Attorney’s Office to ensure that this executive order will have the ability to do exactly what it is designed to do, which is ultimately to provide real accountability in this country, because right now, we just don’t have it at the federal level.”
Just before 3:00 p.m., on X (formerly Twitter), O’Neill Burke wrote, “Mayor Johnson’s statement is not true. The CCSAO did not receive the Executive Order until it was released to the public. We do not provide legal approval of any matter until we’ve reviewed it. On such a critical issue, it’s important we get it right.”
Johnson explained that the new executive order doesn’t mean that Chicago police officers will place handcuffs on federal agents for alleged criminal misconduct. Instead, he said the executive order provides a mechanism for Chicago police to document and gather evidence.
“I want to make sure that this point is clear, that residents who have been harmed in the past through “Midway Blitz,” that this executive order allows for their evidence to be submitted as well, and when that probable cause has been established, we will make sure that it gets to the State’s Attorney for full prosecution.”
Since last year, a coalition of social justice organizations has been calling on O’Neill Burke’s office to investigate and close the Broadview ICE Processing Center.
In addition, today’s announcement follows Johnson’s “ICE-free zones” Executive Order and recent action by the Chicago City Council, which is poised to vote next month on 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.
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 the Department of Homeland Security’s powers.
Earlier this month, Illinois and Chicago filed a joint lawsuit against the Donald Trump administration over its “unlawful and dangerous tactics” during its so-called “Operation Midway Blitz.
CPD, in consultation with Corporation Counsel and the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Migrant and Refugee Rights, will issue guidance and establish procedures for implementing the executive order within 30 days of today’s signing.
“There are countless examples of how constitutional rights have been violated in this city, the city proper, and across this country,” Johnson said. “What we are offering in this moment is hope for the people of this city and this country, that the government can work on behalf of the people, and that’s what this executive order is designed to do.”
