Over the weekend, Mayor Brandon Johnson signed a sweeping executive order establishing the Protecting Chicago Initiative, a cross-departmental directive to protect the Constitutional rights of Chicagoans amidst the possibility of imminent militarized immigration or National Guard deployment by the federal government into Chicago. The Protect Chicago Initiative builds on months of planning work across departments and will establish campaigns to inform Chicagoans of their rights and utilize legal action and legislation to prevent any attempts to systematically violate the rights of Chicagoans.  The work of the Protecting Chicago Initiative will include, but is not limited to: 

• Ensuring accessible information is made readily available regarding residents’ rights when encountering potential immigration enforcement activities occurring at or near schools, hospitals, homeless shelters, places of worship and other sensitive locations. This information will be developed in direct response to the Trump Administration’s rescission of long-standing policy that prohibited immigration enforcement actions in sensitive areas.

• Directing coordination with Departments and agencies, community, business, and philanthropic partners, and the faith-based community, to identify and address community needs resulting from the threats of federal law enforcement and military deployment as well as federal budget cuts that drastically reduce funding for vital programs, including Medicaid and SNAP.

• Cooperating with consular officers serving Chicagoans to document federal law enforcement activity and ensure that residents are exposed to Know Your Rights materials.