This is straight from his campaign website. He ran on this. And the voters voted for it. Overwhelmingly.
THE PLAN FOR SANCTUARY AND IMMIGRANT JUSTICEChicago has always been a place that immigrants, migrants and refugees have called home. It is a place where migrants and refugees from all over the world – from the Jim Crow South to the furthest reaches of the globe – have come to build lives and contribute to everything that makes our city great. For hundreds of years, regular Chicagoans have made our city a welcoming one by helping newly arriving migrants and immigrants make connections, and find jobs, housing and community, which is something we continue to do.
Chicago is a sanctuary city. As such, we must always resist attempts to pit communities against each other and extend this sanctuary promise to everyone who needs it in our city – both long-time residents and newcomers alike.
But too often now, the American Dream that once felt like a promise now feels like an illusion. Migrant families are being used as political pawns by heartless politicians across the country. Worst of all, it so often feels like no one is trying to help. It feels like those in seats of power are not trying to make government work for all of the people, especially those communities that have been neglected and pushed to the margins.
From a lack of resources for multilingual learners to a lack of support for displaced immigrants, our city has not done everything it can to help families who have left everything they know and risked unthinkable danger and chaos to seek out better conditions in which to thrive. So we must work to expand our status as a sanctuary city and support a more accessible path to citizenship for all.
A better Chicago is one that supports our vibrant migrant heritage communities – Chinatown, Pilsen, Little Village, West Ridge, Brighton Park, Chicago Lawn, Hermosa, Humboldt Park, Belmont Cragin, Albany Park, Rogers Park, Uptown and so many others. Chicago is the world within a city because of the diversity of identities, races and cultures on our blocks. You can travel the world through our neighborhoods.
A better Chicago must invest in all of our people, including these communities, by changing the way our city works and prioritizing the needs of families instead of interests of the wealthy and uber-rich.
A Brandon Johnson administration will pursue the following to make sure that every migrant, immigrant and refugee in Chicago has the resources they need to thrive, and proudly call the city home.
A True Sanctuary CityChicago must lead and live by its promise to be a sanctuary city and welcome immigrants, migrants and refugees – and treat them with dignity and respect. Sanctuary means that everyone is welcome here, and as a city we commit to take care of each other and provide all of our neighbors with the resources they need to thrive. This sanctuary promise must extend to everyone who needs it in our city, including residents who are indigenous, old and new.
Migrant families and their children have contributed culturally and economically to our great city since its founding. Those who migrate or come to our city as political refugees, asylum seekers or climate refugees deserve a dignified reception and equal access to programs and services at all levels of government – City, County and State.
Doing right by migrants requires good planning; it means being thoughtful and collaborative about our approach to integration. Previously, Chicago has bulldozed its way through difficult decisions about migrant resettlement without care or forethought – failing longtime residents and arriving migrant families. Even worse, welcoming migrants into our city with no real plan has left many stranded across Chicago, sleeping on trains and floors. We must partner with local communities, work with trusted advocates and community organizations, invest in infrastructure to support displaced immigrants and refugees, and coordinate efforts at all levels of government.
Chicago deserves a leader who will work with all communities to bring people together, make decisions collaboratively, and foster authentic and organic harmony between Chicago’s diverse communities.
A Brandon Johnson administration will:
- Revamp and retool the failing Office of New Americans into the Office of Migrant Protection and Integration to coordinate efforts to support migrant families between the mayor’s office, City Council and other city agencies.
- Adequately staff the Office of Migrant Protection and Integration with culturally competent bilingual/multilingual staff to coordinate between governmental agencies, conduct outreach designed to adapt city programs, benefits and services to the needs of migrants, and advise on the legal service needs of migrants and English Language Learners.
- Increase dedicated funding to immigrant protection and integration, including the Immigrant Legal Protection Fund.
- Leverage the collective braintrust of community groups, leaders, multiple city agencies to develop a comprehensive city plan for asylum seekers and other new arrivals.
- Build multilingual infrastructure for language access within every city agency, with a real enforcement process.
- Ensure law enforcement does not cooperate with ICE to arrest, detain or deport our migrant neighbors.
- End the use of all gang databases that punish Black and Brown communities without the right to due process.
- Strengthen Chicago’s CityKey program with sensitivity around immigration status, and fully resource services that support displaced immigrants arriving in our city.
- Ensure CPD officers do not discriminate against people with special driver’s licenses, CityKey or consular IDs, and advocate for statewide policy that would not require separate driver's licenses for undocumented residents.
- Ensure that equity, language access and non-discrimination are at the heart of services and benefits.
- Stop the practice of the Chicago Police Department denying hundreds of U visa certification and T visa declaration requests submitted by crime victims, and ensure that undocumented crime victims are heard and are able to continue their processes to become citizens without delay.
- Provide rental assistance or other semi-permanent housing for all, provided by the City.
- Build permanent housing for all unhoused, including asylum seekers, by passing the Bring Chicago Home ordinance and enacting other pieces of the $1 billion Better Chicago Agenda.
- Protect Chicago’s working families – including our migrant heritage communities – from displacement due to large-scale gentrification by forming partnerships with community land trusts, non-profit and mission-driven developers, and small landlords in communities threatened by gentrification-driven displacement.
https://www.brandonforchicago.com/issues/immigration
