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Illinois Governor JB Pritzker on Monday accused U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers of harassing people “for not being white.”
Speaking at a press conference alongside Chicago Mayor Brandon, the Democratic governor lambasted the Trump administration for sending in federal agents into the Windy City over the weekend.
“Donald Trump and [DHS Secretary] Kristi Noem and [White House Border Czar] said they were targeting the worst of the worst criminals. They lie and they continue to lie,” Pritzker said, adding that “Sixty percent of the individuals that ICE has taken in Illinois this year have no criminal convictions of any kind.”
“ICE is running around the Loop harassing people for not being white. Just a year ago, that was illegal in the United States. Now, ICE is making it commonplace. That’s not making America great.”
The governor’s comments come after masked federal agents were spotted in downtown Chicago on Sunday – flouting the mayor’s recent executive order barring masks by all law enforcement – and the hundreds of immigrants that the federal government says it has detained in its sweep have underscored local leaders’ limitations against presidential authority.
Chicago has become a target of the Trump administration because of a city ordinance prohibiting city employees, including police, from assisting with federal immigration enforcement.
Trump, a Republican, aims to deport record numbers of immigrants in the U.S. illegally, which he says is needed because of high levels of illegal border crossings under his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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