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Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order Monday prohibiting federal immigration agents from using city-owned property for immigration enforcement operations, as the Trump administration deploys National Guard troops to Illinois.
Johnson established the “ICE-free zones” — referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) — as part of his Protecting Chicago Initiative, rejecting President Donald Trump’s crime crackdown and deportation rollout in the city.
“Today, we are signing an executive order aimed at reining in this out-of-control administration,” Johnson said during a news conference on Monday. “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.”
As Chicago seeks to thwart ICE’s deportation efforts, Johnson and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker filed a lawsuit Monday, attempting to block the Trump administration from deploying National Guard troops to Illinois.
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Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has rejected President Donald Trump’s plan to deploy National Guard troops to Chicago. (Kamil Krazaczynski/Getty Images)
“The Trump administration must end the war on Chicago,” Johnson said. “The Trump administration must end this war against Americans. The Trump administration must end its attempt to dismantle our democracy.”
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During his remarks, Johnson accused the “extreme right” of refusing to accept the results of the Civil War, when slavery was abolished.
“They have repeatedly called for a rematch, but in the coming weeks, we will use this opportunity to build greater resistance. Chicagoans are clear that militarizing our troops in our city as justification to further escalate a war in Chicago will not be tolerated,” he said.
“The right wing in this country wants a rematch of the Civil War,” Johnson repeated during the news conference.
Johnson said Chicago would “not tolerate ICE agents violating our residents’ constitutional rights” or the Trump administration’s “disregard” for local authority.
President Donald Trump visits the U.S. Park Police Anacostia Operations Facility on Aug. 21, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“With this executive order, Chicago stands firm in protecting the constitutional rights of our residents and immigrant communities and upholding our democracy,” Johnson said.
Johnson has directed Chicago agencies and departments to identify spaces within the next five days that have been targeted during ICE raids and post a clear message to federal immigration officers that the city-owned property would not be used for immigration enforcement, including as a staging area, processing location or operations base.
“If the federal government violates this executive order, we will take them to court,” Johnson said, urging Trump to leave Chicago “the freak alone.”
Pritzker, long considered a potential 2028 presidential candidate, said Sunday that he refused to comply with the Trump administration’s “ultimatum” to deploy Illinois National Guard troops, calling it “absolutely outrageous and un-American.”
“We must now start calling this what it is: Trump’s invasion,” Pritzker said.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker speaks at the office of the Center for American Progress event on March 18, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
After Pritzker refused to deploy his own troops, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott authorized Trump to send 400 Texas National Guard members to Illinois and Oregon.
The White House ridiculed Pritzker on Monday for rejecting Trump’s deployment of national guardsmen to Illinois to combat crime.
“Chicago is descending into lawlessness and chaos because this slob cares more about boosting his anti-Trump creds on X than he does about making his city safe,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital.
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“Pritzker should be ashamed of himself,” she said.
The White House and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s comment request.