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CHICAGO (WLS) — Mayor Brandon Johnson of Chicago is staunchly supporting a new executive directive aimed at holding federal immigration officers accountable for any wrongdoing while executing their duties.
Despite this, Mayor Johnson has remained non-committal on whether he would advocate for the police to delve into investigations of any significant incidents.
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The mayor emphasized that he does not intend to influence the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office regarding potential police investigations. Currently, State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neil Burke is assessing the executive order’s legality. Meanwhile, a former leading prosecutor has opined that the order may not be necessary.
The Department of Homeland Security’s local initiative, termed “Midway Blitz,” has drawn attention to immigration enforcement strategies criticized for being overly aggressive and potentially unlawful.
However, there is still uncertainty about the impact of Johnson’s executive order, which mandates that Chicago police must document and investigate misconduct by federal immigration agents.
“If an ICE agent committed a crime, say, shot somebody and it was an inappropriate shooting, Chicago police have absolute authority to investigate that,” said former Cook County First Deputy State’s Attorney Bob Milan. “They have authority to bring charges to the state attorney’s office for approval or rejection. So, you know, this is all much ado about nothing.”
Johnson defended the executive order on Tuesday. He referenced the case involving Marimar Martinez, who Border Patrol agents shot five times last fall.
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Now, Martinez’ attorneys want the evidence released publicly to clear her name. The mayor on Tuesday would not call for police to investigate that case or any other.
“What we are looking to do is to continue to work with all stakeholders so that we can meet the expectations of the people of Chicago, who are justifiably demanding accountability for what they viewed as reckless and lawless actions by the Trump administration in our city,” Johnson said.
Johnson said he was not trying to tell the Cook County State’s Attorney what to do.
“Like any other case, the state’s attorney has their jurisdiction to decide if they’re going to move forward with prosecution. But that’s the autonomy that the state’s attorney has,” Johnson said.
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One leading alderman raised questions about the mayor’s underlying motive behind the executive order.
“The politics of this volatile political situation have cast a shadow over every decision that we’re all making right now. It’s impossible to ignore that, and I do think the mayor made his announcement and crafted that executive order for largely political reasons,” said Public Safety Committee Chairman Ald. Brian Hopkins.
Hopkins called the executive order superfluous, akin, he said to wearing a belt and suspenders. Johnson says there is a 30-day window where his administration will work through the details of how the executive order would be implemented.
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