{"id":32183,"date":"2025-07-02T09:03:12","date_gmt":"2025-07-02T09:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/32183\/"},"modified":"2025-07-02T09:03:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T09:03:12","slug":"who-investigates-if-chicago-cops-help-ice-city-officials-still-debating-unprecedented-situation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/32183\/","title":{"rendered":"Who Investigates If Chicago Cops Help ICE? City Officials Still Debating ‘Unprecedented’ Situation"},"content":{"rendered":"

CITY HALL \u2013 Nearly a month after federal immigration agents arrested at least 10 people during surprise check-ins at a South Loop office, city agencies are still trying to figure out who\u2019s responsible for investigating whether Chicago police improperly aided the effort.<\/p>\n

At a meeting of the City Council\u2019s immigration committee Tuesday, Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th), the committee\u2019s chair, called on police, city officials and leaders of police oversight bodies to look into whether officers violated the city\u2019s sanctuary protections during the June 4 arrests<\/a>.<\/p>\n

City officials, however, could not decide Tuesday who is responsible for carrying out such a probe.<\/p>\n

Officials from the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA), the city\u2019s chief police watchdog, said Tuesday that any investigation of police violating the Welcoming City ordinance \u2014 which bars Chicago law enforcement from assisting in federal immigration operations \u2014 fell outside its scope. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhether we\u2019re talking the Mayor\u2019s Office, Chicago Police Department, the Office of the Inspector General, COPA, Bureau of Internal Affairs, at this moment, 27 days later, there is no completed investigation that we know of,\u201d Vasquez said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have any insight. We don\u2019t have any oversight,\u201d Vasquez added after the meeting.<\/p>\n

Lakenya White, interim chief administrator for COPA, said an investigation should be the responsibility of the Office of the Inspector General. White said that, under city code, violations of the city\u2019s Welcoming City ordinance are not included under the types of police misconduct that COPA investigates. The police department\u2019s Bureau of Internal Affairs also cannot investigate officers\u2019 actions on June 4 because of conflicts of interest, White said. <\/p>\n

Investigating the police department\u2019s response on June 4 is key to understanding how police and city departments are following the Welcoming City ordinance amid an escalating focus by President Donald Trump\u2019s administration on immigrant communities, Ald. Michael Rodriguez (22nd) said at a press conference earlier Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Since June 4, Vasquez and other members of the council\u2019s Latino Caucus have called for an investigation into the police department\u2019s response that day. Officials were told in prior meetings with police Supt. Larry Snelling and the Mayor\u2019s Office that an internal investigation was ongoing, Vasquez said. <\/p>\n

Yet top city officials could not respond Tuesday to questions over the results of that investigation. Garien Gatewood, the city\u2019s deputy mayor of community safety, did not share a timeline of when it will be completed and whether its findings would be made public.<\/p>\n

\"\"Chicago Police officers speak with federal agents \u2014 including ICE, ERO and HSI, detain several people at the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office, 2245 S. Michigan Ave., in South Loop on June 4, 2025. Credit: Sebasti\u00e1n Hidalgo for Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n

\"\"Chicago police speak with Ald. Anthony Quezada (35th) inside tthe Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office, 2245 S. Michigan Ave., in South Loop on June 4, 2025. Credit: Francia Garcia Hernandez\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n

At least 10 noncitizens were detained during surprise immigration check-ins at an ICE-contracted office in the South Loop on June 4. News of the arrests spread quickly, with protesters and City Council members rallying to the scene, which saw tense moments between law enforcement and protesters<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The \u201cunprecedented\u201d situation raises questions about which oversight body is responsible for this type of an investigation and how police should respond to incidents when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are present, Vasquez said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is our responsibility to clarify those things and figure out that protocol swiftly,\u201d Vasquez said. <\/p>\n

White told the committee Tuesday that COPA received two complaints about police officers assisting immigration agents that day, but determined that the complaints fell outside the agency\u2019s scope.<\/p>\n

Inspector General Deborah Witzburg said the Welcoming Ordinance states that complaints about officials who are not members of the police should be investigated by her office. If it was meant to include police, Witzburg believes the ordinance wouldn\u2019t make that distinction, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNonetheless, the highest priority here seems to me to be accountability and transparency,\u201d Witzburg said. \u201c[The Office of the Inspector General] will ensure that this incident is investigated in a way which is complete, thorough, objective and fair.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to city ordinances, the Office of the Inspector General could review any investigation into the June 4 incident that is completed by the police department\u2019s Bureau of Internal Affairs or by COPA, Witzburg said. But if no police oversight body investigates, the Office of the Inspector General could launch its own investigation, she said.<\/p>\n

Witzburg warned, however, that doing so \u201cwill be less publicly transparent than the one conducted by COPA or internal affairs,\u201d citing the inspector general office\u2019s rules of confidentiality.<\/p>\n

Ald. Jessie Fuentes (26th) said Witzburg\u2019s office should not investigate the incident, saying that the public deserves \u201cfull transparency\u201d over what happened on June 4.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have for years been telling people that they are safe in the city of Chicago because we uphold the Welcoming City ordinance and yet we are sitting in this committee hearing debating whose jurisdiction it is to investigate this,\u201d she said. \u201cWe should be ashamed of ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also Tuesday, the council\u2019s immigration committee approved an order calling for both the police department and the city\u2019s department of emergency management to provide records, including police body camera footage and records of communications, from the June 4 incident. The order still needs full City Council approval.<\/p>\n

\"\"Ald. Michael Rodriguez (22nd) joins immigrant rights advocates and elected officials calling for an investigation and records looking into Chicago police\u2019s presence during a June 4 ICE mass arrest operation in the South Loop. Credit: Francia Garcia Hernandez\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n

Chicago police officers responded to three emergency calls for assistance at the site of the immigration arrests June 4.<\/p>\n

The first call was made by an ICE contractor, reporting a large crowd of 20 to 30 protesters on private property. The second call came from the Crime Prevention Information Center requesting assistance for federal agents surrounded by protesters. The third call was made by a member of the Department of Homeland Security requesting assistance, said Chenetra Washington, deputy director of 911 operations for the city\u2019s Office of Emergency Management and Communications.<\/p>\n

A police car and a field supervisor were dispatched without officers knowing they were responding to an immigration raid, according to Glen Brooks, director of community policing for the Chicago Police Department. Officers who arrived at the scene assessed the situation and asked for a supervisor, which led to top officials arriving on scene, he said.<\/p>\n

Police did not assist ICE agents, detain or transport any noncitizens on June 4, Brooks told the committee Tuesday. Officers decided to stay at the scene \u201cgiven that the large crowd gathered outside was filling into a very busy arterial street,\u201d Brooks said.<\/p>\n

\u201cCPD was seen to ensure the safety of everyone in the area, including those who are outside the building, exercising their First Amendment practice,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Organizers and neighbors, however, have questioned why police officers blocked access to an adjacent parking lot. Officers were also seen inside the building where ICE officials detained at least ten people, several immigrant rights leaders and organizers have said.<\/p>\n

Chicago police officers created \u201ca pathway\u201d for ICE agents, facilitating their operations, organizers said at a press conference Tuesday morning. <\/p>\n

Immigrant advocates have also called on the city to \u201cuse every tool and creative solution to protect Chicago residents from ICE abductions\u201d and develop a clear plan of action if ICE uses immigration raid tactics seen in Los Angeles, said Fred Tsao, senior policy council of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to see body cam footage of what was the discourse and conversation between Chicago police and ICE agents,\u201d Fuentes said. \u201cThere\u2019s so much that could have happened inside this office and we don\u2019t know.\u201d <\/p>\n

Listen to the Block Club Chicago podcast:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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