Chicago Mayor Johnson Attacks Trump’s Immigration Plan

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During a recent appearance on CNN’s First of All podcast, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson avoided directly answering questions about his city’s sanctuary policies and potential cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under President-elect Donald Trump’s administration. Despite repeated attempts by host Victor Blackwell to clarify whether Chicago police would inform ICE about criminal illegal aliens in custody, Johnson sidestepped the inquiries, instead focusing on anti-Trump rhetoric and promoting progressive policies.

Johnson criticized Trump’s immigration stance, education policies, and environmental positions, stating that his responsibility as Mayor of Chicago is to protect people and connect them to resources. However, when Blackwell played a clip of Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, calling for police departments to notify ICE of violent offenders’ whereabouts, Johnson continued to avoid a clear response. Instead, he reiterated that Chicago police are not federal agents and defended the city’s sanctuary city ordinance, which he tied to a legacy of black liberation policies initiated by former Mayor Harold Washington.

Blackwell pressed further, asking if Johnson’s administration would cooperate with ICE when dealing with violent offenders, but the mayor again refrained from providing a definitive answer. Instead, Johnson criticized the Trump administration, labeling its policies as ignorant and causing chaos.

Additionally, Johnson used an example to highlight Chicago’s sanctuary city status saying that Jesus Christ was born as a refugee while his parents were fleeing persecution—a claim that is historically incorrect because Mary and Joseph were traveling to Bethlehem for a Roman census. Despite Blackwell’s repeated efforts to obtain clarity on the city’s policies, Johnson avoided committing to any specific course of action, leaving the issue unresolved and prompting further questions about how his administration would handle Trump’s deportation efforts in the future.