(Screengrab via YouTube/X)
The White House launched a furious attack on Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) just moments after he signed an executive order creating “ICE-Free Zones” across the city on Monday, calling the move “sick” and accusing the mayor of protecting “killers” and “rapists.”
Johnson’s order, which took effect immediately, bars federal immigration authorities from using city-owned properties, including parking lots and vacant spaces, as staging areas for immigration enforcement.
Moments after a press conference by Johnson announcing the order on Monday, the White House reacted via its Rapid Response 47 account on X.
“This is SICK. He is aiding and abetting criminal illegal immigrant killers, rapists, traffickers, and gang bangers,” the post read.
Johnson had framed the move as an act of local sovereignty and community protection, saying “rogue, reckless” armed agents were “not accountable to the people of Chicago.”
“Our school parking lots are not for ICE to load their weapons,” the mayor said. “Our libraries are not for ICE to prepare for a raid… our parks are not for ICE to set up checkpoints.”
The backlash comes amid a wider clash over immigration enforcement between Democratic leaders and President Donald Trump, who has ordered the deployment of hundreds of Texas National Guard members to Illinois.
