The Western Journal reported that Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson communicated regularly with other sanctuary city mayors in efforts to limit federal immigration enforcement, including establishing ICE-free zones in Chicago that restrict agency access to city properties without warrants.
According to the report, Johnson admitted to coordinating with mayors from cities such as Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Portland, Oakland, Boston, Denver, and Baltimore. These efforts aim to protect constituents by prohibiting ICE from using city properties without warrants amid recent federal operations and incidents in Minneapolis.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has reported that Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago resulted in a significant decrease in various crimes: homicides dropped by 16%, shootings by 35%, robberies by 41%, carjackings by 48%, and transit crime by 20%. DHS said that sanctuary policies have exacerbated Chicago’s crime crisis for decades by protecting criminal illegal aliens. Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin noted that thanks to DHS law enforcement efforts, Chicago is experiencing a historic drop in violent crime.
The House Budget Committee reported on the fiscal impact of illegal immigrants on U.S. taxpayers. It said that illegal immigrants impose a net fiscal drain with lifetime costs exceeding taxes paid by an estimated $68,000 per individual. The primary expenditures include $42 billion annually in welfare benefits for households headed by illegal immigrants and $68.1 billion per year for educating their children. These factors place significant burdens on state and local governments. Sanctuary policies further limit enforcement and exacerbate fiscal pressures on communities like Chicago through increased service demands.
The Western Journal is a prominent American conservative news outlet founded in 2008 by political consultant Floyd Brown as Western Journalism and renamed in 2018. Owned by Liftable Media, Inc., it is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, focusing on conservative, libertarian, free market, and pro-family content. By 2019, the site had grown significantly, reaching over 36 million readers and followers on Facebook.
