Vowing a “struggle” to guard all Chicagoans, Mayor Brandon Johnson mentioned Thursday that he had not reached out to the White House within the face of Republican President Donald Trump’s continued threats towards immigrants — and Democratic officers like Johnson himself.
In an interview with the Tribune, Johnson mentioned “no” when requested whether or not his group had sought a gathering with the Trump administration on immigration actions in Chicago or different matters. The mayor additionally would not budge within the face of the specter of prosecution by Trump’s Justice Department, saying his job as Chicago’s chief would not change.
Asked to clarify his lack of contact with the White House, the mayor mentioned his focus stays at dwelling.
“I’ve a duty to guard the residents of the town of Chicago, and so that’s my duty, and I’ll do it,” the mayor mentioned in a 15-minute interview. “We will defend the working class, whether or not you are an immigrant or whoever you’re, my job is to guard working individuals, and that is what I’m doing.”
Johnson advised reporters final week that he was open to “a critical dialog about how one can construct a greater, stronger, safer Chicago” with the Trump administration as a result of he isn’t “imply.”
Asked Thursday what has modified for the reason that inauguration, the mayor deflected.
“If the Trump administration is dedicated to investing in public training, as we’re doing in Chicago, I’m completely satisfied to have these conversations,” Johnson mentioned. “If the Trump administration is dedicated to creating alternatives for extra reasonably priced housing, I’m completely satisfied to have this dialog.”
The mayor’s remarks got here a day after Trump’s Justice Department issued a memo ordering it to research state and native officers who “threaten to impede” Trump’s immigration crackdown. As a progressive freshman mayor, Johnson’s problem now’s to advocate for Chicago’s massive immigrant group whereas dealing with the danger of antagonizing Trump, who many consultants predict can have fewer guardrails throughout his second time period.
Asked whether or not he feared Trump’s retaliation towards Chicago if Johnson continued his criticism, the mayor mentioned he was not nervous about “dramatic shows that individuals appear to fawn over.”
“This is just not grownup management,” Johnson mentioned. “Adult management is placing ahead a imaginative and prescient for employees.”
Trump’s inauguration Monday because the forty seventh president has sparked uncertainty and worry in Chicago’s immigrant group, setting the stage for a tumultuous 4 years that would put the mayor of the nation’s third-largest metropolis within the nationwide highlight. How Johnson offers with this second might outline his political profession after a bumpy first two years as mayor.
Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, referred to as out Johnson instantly as he declared Chicago floor zero for mass deportations.
Last week, the Wall Street Journal and different retailers reported that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids would start final Tuesday in Chicago, although Homan appeared to stroll it again after the reviews, and the raids weren’t leaked . He additionally lately gave liberal cities a alternative: Cooperate with roundups of undocumented individuals accused or convicted of crimes, or meet federal immigration brokers on the streets.
Although the raids haven’t occurred, advocates worry that the stream of reports from Washington, D.C., and rumors of potential ICE exercise are already having a chilling impact on immigrant communities.
Trump has already moved to finish birthright citizenship in a controversial govt order {that a} federal choose suspended Thursday, citing the 14th Amendment. And he suspended asylum and refugee protections, together with saying a joint federal and native process pressure to deport overseas prison gang members and transferring to withhold federal funds from native businesses that refuse to cooperate with ICE.
The newest transfer was one tried by Trump throughout his first presidential time period, when his administration threatened to withhold public security funding in Chicago resulting from its longtime sanctuary metropolis standing. This prompted then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel to efficiently struggle his Justice Department in court docket.
When Trump’s new ICE director, Robert Guardian, thought of Chicago’s sanctuary metropolis standing after Mayor Lori Lightfoot took workplace, he rapidly responded by displaying up at his press convention with a gaggle of immigration activists .
Asked what his plan is to make sure Chicago maintains federal funding, Johnson mentioned he has had “a number of conversations” with Illinois’ congressional delegation, however didn’t clarify what the technique may seem like with a GOP trifecta in Washington.
“We will struggle and work arduous to make sure that these federal investments which might be rightfully ours – as a result of we’re taxpayers – are supplied to the individuals of the town,” he mentioned. “We nonetheless have a democracy. This is how we struggle. We struggle inside our democracy. This is just not the primary time we’ve had individuals in cost who oppose our values.”
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