Officials, Neighbors Question If City Policies Aimed At Protecting Immigrants Are Being Followed 26%
By Francia Garcia Hernandez57%
7/20/2026, 7:21:59 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 29 faulty reasoning types, including Availability Heuristic, Appeal to Emotion, and Pessimism Bias, with Negativity Bias as the most egregious example at 12.7% saturation with 212 hits. Analysis detected 1,670 faulty-reasoning hits from 1,669 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 38.6% and a BS Rank of 26% (14,019 of 18,920 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 74.10% of the article peer group.
CITY HALL — A city panel on Friday questioned whether Chicago police are following policies aimed at protecting Chicagoans from civil immigration arrests and federal agent misconduct.
The City Council’s Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights hosted a hearing Friday looking into Mayor Brandon Johnson’s ICE on Notice executive order and recent arrests of street vendors by Chicago police.
The executive order outlines a framework for Chicago police to identify, document, investigate and refer for prosecution federal agents found to have violated state or local laws.
But the Police Department then had to create an agency policy to track how police will investigate agents — and Ald.
Andre Vasquez (40th) questioned why it’s taken months to complete that policy.
The order was announced in January.
The Police Department’s policy was finalized Friday, police officials said during the hearing.
Vasquez, the city’s immigration committee chair, also questioned why police are arresting street vendors Downtown for license and peddling violations, a practice that could put immigrant vendors at risk of being detained by federal agents.
At least two street vendors were deported last month after federal agents arrested them when they attended court hearings because Chicago police had arrested them for misdemeanors.
Chicagoans at the meeting also criticized city police for not investigating incidents where they said federal immigration agents clearly violated laws during Operation Midway Blitz and more recent immigration enforcement actions.
These include the shooting of Marimar Martinez this fall and ICE agents causing a car crash last month in Albany Park.
“Just to be clear, a U.S. citizen and Chicago resident was shot by the federal government and our police is not investigating,” said Noelle Clennon, an organizer with Indivisible Lincoln Square.
The department has faced intense scrutiny from Chicagoans for more than a year, accused of helping federal immigration agents in violation of Chicago’s sanctuary city rules.
Leaders have repeatedly denied those allegations.
In a news release Friday, Mayor Brandon Johnson said the Police Department is reviewing the Illinois Accountability Commission’s April report calling on Chicagoans to report crimes by immigration agents.
The report details allegations of misconduct by agents during Operation Midway Blitz .
Thr commission recommended local law enforcement investigate several shootings and violent incidents.
Chicago police will review the report’s findings independently, evaluate all available evidence and decide “whether additional investigation or referrals are warranted under Illinois law,” according to the Mayor’s Office release.
“Community assistance is essential to ensuring that every reported incident is fully evaluated,” Fred Wallace, Chicago Police interim superintendent, said in an emailed statement Friday morning.
A street vendor holds their ticket after street vendors, with the assistance of Street Vendors Association of Chicago, attended a virtual hearing for peddling-related charges on July 2, 2026.
Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Street Vendors Ask For City Support: ‘We Just Want To Be Able To Work’
Street vendors at Friday’s meeting called on city officials to support and protect immigrant vendors who are in fear of being persecuted by federal immigration officers and local law enforcement.
In recent months, police have arrested vendors for city ordinance violations in Downtown’s high-traffic tourist area, long an area where immigrant vendors had been able to work with little fear of arrest.
“We’re tired of being afraid, of running, running from the city, from police,” said Clara Barrios, a Downtown street vendor.
Vasquez asked city officials what has led to the city’s recent crackdown on unlicensed street vendors.
Sheamus Mannion, commander of the Downtown police district, said police simply respond to calls about street vendors’ violations of the city’s municipal code.
Most calls are about vendors selling between Wacker and Michigan avenues and the Museum Campus, Mannion said.
City laws prohibit street vendors from selling anything, even with a license, in the Central Business District.
Yet vendors have long been regularly seen Downtown, especially near Millennium Park and Soldier Field, raising questions about whether city regulations are being enforced fairly, Vasquez said.
And vendors typically only receive citations from police, said Maria Orozco, with the Street Vendors Association of Chicago.
Immigration committee members asked police how officers decide when to cite or arrest a street vendor.
Police said they look at some criteria, including whether the vendor is over 18 years old, has an ID, and the likelihood that the offense is going to continue.
“I want to make it clear that the increased enforcement that has been seen recently is not coming from the Mayor’s Office,” said Beatriz Ponce de León, deputy mayor of immigrant, migrant and refugee rights.
Vasquez asked whether police can make policy changes to prevent vendors from being arrested and, therefore, from being at risk of being targeted by federal immigration agents over a city code violation.
Police representatives said they are enforcing existing city laws, but they did not immediately respond to Vasquez’s questions on how they decide when to arrest a street vendor.
The City Council’s Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights hosted a hearing Friday looking into Mayor Brandon Johnson’s “ICE on Notice” executive order and recent arrests of street vendors by Chicago police.
Credit: Francia Garcia Hernandez/Block Club Chicago
Juan Gama, president of the Street Vendors Association of Chicago, said vendors want to comply with local laws but the city needs to streamline its policies for obtaining peddling and street vendor licenses.
License applications often take months before being approved, which is too long for vendors whose main source of income is street vending, Orozco said.
Gama said the group is committed to working with health officials and the city’s Department of Business and Consumer Affairs.
Street vendors contribute to the city’s culture and economy and pay taxes, Orozco said.
“We have been struggling over 30 years.
Someone has to help us legalize our business now.
We love the city of Chicago.
We have our roots here,” Gama said.
Over the past two years, the immigration committee has worked with other city departments and the Mayor’s Office to propose an ordinance that would make those guidelines clearer, Pooja Ravindran, chief of staff for the city’s immigration committee, previously said.
If a new ordinance is not passed soon, vendors asked city officials to make policies and information about where vending is not allowed accessible and clear so vendors can comply, they said.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson speaks on a stage at a May Day rally before the kickoff of the annual May Day march through the city, a global day recognizing workers and labor rights with deep roots in Chicago’s labor history, in Union Park on May 1, 2026.
Credit: Jamie Kelter Davis for Block Club Chicago
Criticism Over Implementation Of Mayor’s ‘ICE On Notice’ Order
Johnson’s ICE On Notice executive order directs Chicago police to “investigate and document” alleged crimes committed by federal immigration agents conducting operations in the city.
The order was created as a result of Operation Midway Blitz, and it “did not invent” the Police Department’s authority to document and investigate criminal activity, said Sheila Bedi, counsel to the mayor.
The department already had policies about body-worn cameras, preserving evidence, and documenting crimes reported by Chicagoans, said Jill Stevens, deputy chief of the police patrol bureau.
But the executive order did add guidance for police on handling and documenting incidents involving federal agents, Stevens said.
The Police Department then had to create a policy for tracking incidents involving federal immigration agents, which was implemented Friday, Stevens said.
But that policy is coming nearly six months after the mayor’s executive order and over two months after the state released a report recommending criminal investigation of agents’ misconduct.
The months-long delay frustrated some Chicago officials and residents, they said.
“If it’s already on the books, and all you’re saying is you added ‘also for federal agents,’ it shouldn’t take five months for that to be completed,” Vasquez said.
Police officials said the department had to create a tracking system for complaints involving ICE officials and instruct officers on how to gather evidence in incidents that “that might not rise to the level of a criminal case,” but could later be investigated as such.
Earlier Friday, Johnson issued a news release calling on Chicagoans who experienced or witnessed unlawful conduct by federal agents to report it to Chicago police.
“If you experienced or witnessed unlawful conduct, I encourage you to come forward,” Johnson said in the news release.
“Your voice matters.
Your experience matters.
And your willingness to be heard can help ensure that everyone — regardless of their position or authority — is accountable under the law.”
Alderpeople at Friday’s hearing also pressed police leaders on how they determine when an encounter with federal immigration agents should be investigated for alleged misconduct.
Police said responding officers gather information on-site, talk to witnesses and look at evidence.
Anyone who believes officers violated the law can bring forward a complaint and ask police to investigate, whether on-site or later in the investigation, police officials said.
Alderpeople also asked whether responding officers have started investigations in recent incidents, such as the car crash involving ICE agents in Albany Park.
Police said an incident report was created for a non-criminal activity and a hit-and-run.
Ald.
Jeylu Gutierrez (14th) also asked police if the department has policies in place to respond to immigration arrests that could help family members identify who was detained if only their personal belongings were left behind.
Police said if a car or property is left behind, police work to identify who it belongs to and return it.
“Investigations should have a clear deadline so communities are not left waiting indefinitely for answers like we have for the past year,” said Elianne Bahena, 10th Police District councilor.
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