Editor’s note: Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson spoke on October 6, 2025 on his executive order establishing “ICE Free Zones,” which prohibit federal immigration agents from using city-owned properties for civil immigration enforcement operations. The order is in response to recent federal immigration enforcement activities that endangered and violated the rights of Chicagoans, and because of credible reports that within days, not weeks, some type of militarized activity by the federal government may take place in the city. Below is a transcript of the mayor’s remarks.
We are here today to talk about the events that have transpired over the past week. The past week revealed the true face of the administration’s immigration enforcement in our city, and the entire world was able to witness that. On Tuesday, federal immigration agents raided an apartment building in the South Shore community in the middle of the night.
This building was managed by a slumlord that people have all been clear about. The city actually sued the owner in February over 15 building code violations. The residents were dealing with deplorable conditions already, and this was before ICE trampled on them. But when they came in the middle of the night, they terrorized the families living there. There were children [outside] who were without clothing. They were ziptied and taken outside. At three o’clock in the morning, a senior resident, an American citizen, with no warrants, was taken outside and handcuffed for three hours. Doors were blown off their hinges. Walls were broken through.
Immigration agents came from Black Hawk helicopters to set up snipers on nearby buildings. This is America.
One resident described the situation plainly and I quote, “They had immigrants in one van and Black people in another van.” This raid wasn’t about public safety. And It’s certainly not about immigration. This was about a show of authoritarianism, a forceful display of tyranny. They sent a clear message to all Chicagoans. They said, “We do not respect your rights. We can do anything we want and we will film it and put it on social media.” The very next day ICE agents chased people outside of a homeless shelter on the South side and then caused a car accident on the West side. Immigration agents put a young Black man in a choke hold on the side of the street in East Garfield Park. Witnesses, one of which you will hear from this morning, bravely filmed the interaction, eventually leading to this person’s release.
On Friday, agents dispersed teargas in the middle of a busy city street. Chicagoans were hit with chemical agents while walking their children home from school. A couple ran from teargas with a 2-year-old child in their care. Agents went into the Humboldt Park Health Center and detained a sitting elected official alter Jesse Fuentes of the 26th Ward because she simply requested to see a warrant. On Saturday, they escalated even further by shooting a US citizen. They claimed it was defensive fire, but frankly, we cannot trust anything that comes out of the administration. It was only a few short weeks ago that they claimed officers were severely injured in the killing of Mr. Vieques Gonzalez In Franklin Park. A Sun Times investigation found that what the agent said on a body camera footage that it was in fact nothing major. We have a rogue reckless group of heavily armed mass individuals roaming throughout our city that are not accountable to the people of Chicago. Their actions put all Chicagoans at risk. When protestors confronted federal immigration agents in Brighton Park on Saturday, they were met with pepper balls and more repression. CPD responded to a tip to deescalate the situation and ICE tear gassed our police officers.
Let me be clear. Tear gassing women and men who serve as Chicago Police Department officers is not how we make our city safer. I’m calling for a full investigation into this incident, and into all of the brutality that we have seen over the past week. They are taking police resources that should be in our neighborhoods, serving Chicagoans and diverting them to deal with the chaos that they are causing. We need ice out of our city so that we can continue to focus on the strategies that have been working to drive violent crime down. These actions tell us a simple truth.
If we allow this administration to take away due process for anyone, we will allow them to take away due process for everyone. They told us that this was about the worst of the worst. In reality, they are going after anyone who objects to families being ripped apart and community members being disappeared. ICE lies and people die. We cannot allow this to continue. We must take action more drastic than what we have taken before because what we are seeing is a more radical attempt to undermine our democracy.
And today we are signing an executive order aimed at reigning. In this out of control administration. The Order establishes ice free zones. That means that city property and unwilling private businesses will no longer serve as staging grounds for these raids.
Our school parking lots are not for ICE to load their weapons. They are for Chicagoans who drop their kids off to learn. Our libraries are not for ICE to prepare for a raid. They’re for Chicagoans to read and relax. Our parks are not for ICE to set up checkpoints. They are for Chicagoans to play and enjoy. Private establishments can partner with us to make it clear that private property is private property and ICE cannot enter establishments without a valid warrant. Private entities may voluntarily choose to display signs to designate their property as part of a citywide network of community spaces that stand together in affirming the safety, dignity, and belonging of all of our residents. By extending this protection beyond city-owned land, the order builds a broad civic shield that limits the reach of harmful enforcement practices. It strengthens neighborhood solidarity and it reaffirms Chicago’s role as a welcoming city. The fact is, we cannot allow them to rampage throughout our city with no checks or balances. Nobody is above the law. If we break the law, you should be held accountable. If Congress will not check this administration, then Chicago will.
I know there are many Chicagoans who are disturbed by the images and the videos that they are seeing on the news and social media. There are many who are scared and shocked by what they are seeing. The truth is, is that we are at a tipping point. This administration is trying to divide us and pit people and groups against one another. They want to divide and conquer. And as I said, in the South Shore, and this has been said very clearly, Black people in one van and immigrants in another.
In the face of this unprecedented threat, this moment calls for unity, Black,, Brown, White, Asian, young, old, North Side, West Sideide, South Side, we must all pull aside our differences and defend one another because if we allow this to continue to be unchecked, by the time we realize what’s happening, it will be too late.
And this Executive Order is a step towards accountability and is calling for the basic rule of law. In the coming days and weeks. We may be pushed, if not forced, to take even more dramatic action if this administration continues to escalate and provoke our people.
In closing, last night I spoke with the governor and he informed me that the Trump administration is deploying Texas National Guard to our city. We will speak to our response later today. We’ll do that with the governor as well as the Attorney General. For now, let me just say that we are unequivocally going to continue to reject the military occupation of our city. The Trump administration must end the war on Chicago. The Trump administration must end this war against Americans. The Trump administration must end its attempt to dismantle our democracy. Right as we are making historic progress in reducing violence, the Trump administration is seeking to destabilize our city and provoke chaos.
We said that they would use ICE as a pretext to send in the National Guard, and now they are doing just that. I’ve also said for the last couple of years that the extreme Right in this country refuse to accept the results of the Civil War. They have repeatedly called for a rematch. But in the coming weeks, we will use this opportunity to build greater resistance. Chicagoans are clear, militarizing our troops in our city as justification to further escalate a war in Chicago, will will not be tolerated. The past teaches us that just because we are on the right side of history, that doesn’t mean that we will succeed. It’s going to take courage and determination, bravery, unity. But one thing that I know for sure in this great Nation, this moment that we are in, Chicago was built for this moment. Immigrants from around the world, descendants of slaves, have come to this city to make it the global capital of the world. And now we stand in a moment that is testing our very humanity. And the city of Chicago will stand the test of time. Thank you very much.
