City Hall hired film crew to document immigration arrests, ICE claims in court filing
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement accused Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration of hiring a company to film immigration arrests to discipline any Chicago police officers involved in the enforcement efforts, according to a federal court filing.
The claim was part of a declaration filed by the agency Monday in U.S. District Court. It’s part of the federal lawsuit President Donald Trump’s Justice Department filed in February against city, county and state officials arguing that local sanctuary policies are interfering with immigration enforcement.
Trump has promised his supporters mass deportations of immigrants across the country, but has faced resistance in places like Chicago, where community groups had “know your rights” training. Local authorities aren’t allowed to cooperate with federal officers in immigration enforcement activities because of the state’s Trust Act and the city’s Welcoming City ordinance.
In the filing, ICE made the claim that it “received information,” that the mayor’s office hired a company to drive around the city looking for Chicago police officers cooperating with ICE enforcement activities with the purpose of then disciplining those officers. The federal agency also alleges that Chicago police officers, “have expressed to ICE officials willingness to cooperate with ICE but fear they will face discipline for violating these Sanctuary Policies.”
In a statement, Johnson's office said it had not hired any contractors to film ICE arrests.
"Mayor Johnson believes that local law enforcement should be focused on public safety, not federal immigration enforcement. We have received the recent filing and are currently reviewing its contents," Johnson's office said in the statement.
The ACLU of Illinois described ICE’s claim as ironic, noting that ICE had a camera crew with it in January during enforcement activities in the Chicago area.
“After all, this is the entity that not only brought along Dr. Phil to record ICE arrests, but he was permitted to question one person arrested — even after that person asked to speak with a lawyer,” said Ed Yohnka, spokesman for the ACLU of Illinois.
In the weeks since Trump took office, community members have made public photos and videos of ICE in neighborhoods, but those recordings are meant to be a form of mutual aid for neighbors to keep each other informed.
Xanat Sobrevilla, an organizer with Organized Communities Against Deportations, said those images aren’t shared with the city, and no one has paid them to take videos or photos.
“People in neighborhoods are just making sure that they are able to document violations,” Sobrevilla said.