City Council rejects bid to ask voters to weigh in on Chicago's sanctuary city status
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The City Council on Thursday voted against the latest effort to ask voters in March if Chicago should remain a sanctuary city for immigrants, the latest volley in a heated debate over the city's handling of the ongoing migrant crisis.
At a special City Council meeting, aldermen voted 31-16 to block any debate or vote on a proposal to place a non-binding referendum for the March primary ballot, asking voters, "Should the City of Chicago continue to keep its designation as a Sanctuary City?"
Alds. Anthony Beale (9th) and Raymond Lopez (15th) have tried and failed multiple times to get that measure on the ballot, only to be blocked by Mayor Brandon Johnson's allies on City Council.
Faced with another defeat, Beale told opponents of the proposed referendum, "I figured you all had something up your sleeve, but let me just say that it is a shame."
"It is a shame that you all are scared. What are you scared of to let the people have a voice? What are you scared of? The truth? Are we scared of the truth here? Are we afraid that the people are going to tell us that we are spending money frivolously in this body? Are we afraid that the people are going to tell us that we are headed in the wrong direction?" Beale said. "Why are we afraid to let the people speak?"
While the proposal has caused heated debate about the city's handling of the thousands of asylum seekers who have arrived in Chicago since August 2022, opponents of the referendum argued the city's sanctuary city ordinance has nothing to do with the ongoing migrant crisis.
Fred Tsao, senior policy counsel for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, said, "this ordinance has nothing to do with whether or how the city provides shelter and care for the migrants being sent to Chicago.
"Repealing the ordinance will do nothing to stop the buses from coming, or end the need that the migrants present. At best, thee moves to undermine the Welcoming City Ordinance are the result of confusion and misdirection. At worst, they are cynical ploys that are feeding on fear and resentment, turning neighbors and communities against each other, and dividing our city," Tsao added.
Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th), who chairs the City Council Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights, also has said the push to ask voters about Chicago's sanctuary city status amounts to little more than giving in to the fears of people concerned about the impact of the migrant crisis, rather than actually addressing the problems the city is facing.
"Getting that accountability, and being able to talk through what's being done, they don't want to face any of that frustration, and fear, and ignorance that they may be hearing from their constituents. So they say, 'Let's put a question on the ballot. Let's point that energy somewhere else, because I want to make sure I remain in my seat,'" Vasquez said. "I understand the fear, but I think that fear and ignorance is going to guide us to a place where our city and country are even more divided."
Chicago's "Welcoming City Ordinance" is designed to offer various protections for undocumented immigrants. It prohibits police from arresting someone solely because of their immigration status. It also prohibits the city from asking someone about their immigration status, disclosing person's immigration status to federal authorities, or cooperating with an investigation of someone's immigration status unless ordered to do so by a court or federal law. The city also may not deny services or benefits to someone because of their citizenship status.
The ordinance does not require the city to provide any services to migrants who have arrived in Chicago, or to spend any taxpayer funds to provide them temporary housing. The more than 20,000 migrants who have arrived in the city since August 2022 are in the United States legally, seeking asylum after fleeing their native countries to seek a better life in the U.S.
Last month, Beale and Lopez scheduled another special City Council meeting on the city's sanctuary city status, but it ended without any debate or vote after a lengthy fight over whether supporters had the necessary quorum to proceed. That meeting led to bullying allegations against Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th), who was caught on camera blocking Ald. Emma Mitts (37th) from entering the meeting. A handful of other alderpeople accused Ramirez-Rosa of threatening them. Ramirez-Rosa later apologized and resigned his posts as the mayor's floor leader and as chair of the Zoning Committee.
Wednesday's vote essentially ends the chances of getting the sanctuary city question on the March ballot. The proposal has been bottled up in the City Council Rules Committee, which is not scheduled to meet before the Jan. 2 deadline for the City Council to add referenda to the March ballot.
Even if the proposal had made it onto the ballot, and voters had approved it, because the proposed referendum was non-binding, it would not have repealed the Welcoming City Ordinance. Any move to do so would require a City Council vote.