Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson escalated his city’s war against federal immigration enforcement this week, vowing in a press conference that Chicago police “will not ever cooperate with ICE,” regardless of federal priorities or constitutional authority. The mayor’s comments came after he was asked whether the city would actively shield illegal immigrants from federal agents near schools, further exposing the deep divide between sanctuary city leaders and the Trump administration’s sweeping deportation agenda.

Johnson’s stance is not new, but his language is growing more defiant as enforcement ramps up. “Look, we are welcoming city ordinance. Our local police department will not ever cooperate with ICE, whatever their constitutional authority is,” Johnson said. “That is obviously relegated to the Trump administration.” He then passed the microphone to the city’s corporate counsel to detail how Chicago would instruct all departments to stonewall federal law enforcement.

Johnson has repeatedly labeled ICE operations “terrorism” and has called on Chicagoans to “rise up” against the agency tasked with removing criminal illegal aliens from American communities. Last month, he demanded House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., speak out against what he described as ICE’s “terrorism,” despite the fact that Chicago has taken in over 51,000 illegal immigrants from the southern border since August 2022, straining city services and sparking backlash among residents frustrated with rising crime and dwindling resources.

While Johnson was vowing defiance, former Trump border czar Tom Homan was sounding the alarm on growing threats to ICE agents, revealing that assaults on ICE officers have skyrocketed by over 500% as anti-ICE sentiment spreads. Homan warned about a new app called ICEBlock that tracks ICE operations in real time, enabling activists to target and harass agents, and potentially setting up ambushes like those that have occurred in cities like Los Angeles.

“It’s only a matter of time before ICE agents are ambushed by some nut,” Homan said during an appearance on “The Will Cain Show.” “Throwing them out a cocktail, throwing bricks at these officers. This is just disgusting at every level.”

The White House responded to Chicago’s escalating sanctuary defiance with a clear message. Spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital that Democrat politicians “are desperate to defend violent criminal illegal aliens over American citizens” and that it’s “wrong.” She emphasized that this defiance is exactly why voters rejected Democrats in November and sent President Trump back to the White House with a mandate to enforce immigration law and restore safety.

“No matter how much Democrats try to defend criminal illegal aliens, President Trump and his Administration will always fight to protect the American people,” Jackson stated. She reiterated President Trump’s commitment to carrying out “the largest mass deportation operation in history,” focusing specifically on targeting sanctuary cities like Chicago that shield criminal illegals from removal.

Trump’s deportation plan is already underway, with ICE and Border Patrol agents conducting large-scale enforcement sweeps across sanctuary jurisdictions, seizing criminal illegal aliens and prioritizing those with felony records and gang affiliations for immediate removal. Chicago’s refusal to cooperate complicates these operations, but federal officials have made clear they will proceed regardless of local political obstruction.

The clash between sanctuary city leaders like Johnson and the Trump administration is likely to intensify in the coming weeks as immigration enforcement becomes one of the central battles of Trump’s second term. With the border crisis still straining resources and crime rates climbing in cities overrun by illegal immigration, voters are watching closely as Trump and local Democrats collide over who truly represents the interests and safety of American citizens.