Chicago Suspends Online Application Website That Allowed Illegal Immigrants To Obtain Ids After Ice Subpoena

Chicago metropolis clerk Anna Valencia suspended nan online exertion method of obtaining CityKey IDs aft U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sent a lawsuit to her agency for nan accusation of applicants.

As nan Trump management continues its efforts to deport an unprecedented activity of forbidden immigrants allowed to participate nan state during nan Biden administration, it faces resistance from section officials. Leaders of peculiarly Democratic-leaning cities for illustration Chicago are immoderate of nan astir outspoken astir their efforts to protect forbidden immigrants from being deported. 

Valencia announced Friday that her agency would return nan CityKey online portal offline, nan Chicago Tribune reported. CityKeys are a section government-issued shape of ID that is accessible to Chicago residents sloppy of their migration status, gender identity, aliases criminal history. Her determination to suspend nan online exertion portal occurred aft ICE subpoenaed her agency for nan accusation provided by noncitizens, successful their ngo to prosecute forbidden immigrants.

The Chicago Tribune noted that erstwhile nan municipal ID programme was first introduced successful 2017, it was intended to skirt nationalist records rule and protect individual accusation by only processing applications in-person.

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ICE subpoenaed nan Chicago metropolis clerk's agency for information connected forbidden migrant applicants to nan CityKey municipal ID program. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)

However, arsenic nan migrant situation spiked successful nan consequent years, nan metropolis created an online portal to process applicants; documents that nan agency is not allowed to destruct nether nationalist records law.

Responding to advocates alarmed astatine nan online retention of documents that could beryllium utilized by ICE, Valencia paused that facet of nan program.

"We did hear, ‘Let’s region nan online level temporarily arsenic we return a beat and measure what’s happening,'" Valencia told nan Tribune. "We’re going to measure what’s happening regular and wherever nan ambiance is, and if we consciousness we are successful a different place, we tin easy move nan online level backmost on, but we are not going anywhere."

In May 2024, nan City Council signed disconnected connected a caller amendment to nan municipal codification that added, "Information provided by Applicants utilizing nan online level to get a City of Chicago ID will beryllium stored."

"Listen, I’ve ever been honorable and transparent and led pinch integrity," Valencia told nan Tribune, referencing online warnings astir records retention. "I cognize there’s a batch of fearfulness retired there, truthful I want to beryllium very clear that we’re going to conflict giving complete immoderate information to nan national government… No information was fixed complete to ICE, period, zero, for nan CityKey."

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Illegal migration has been President Trump's flagship rumor since he first ran, and has faced stiff guidance from section Democratic leaders crossed nan state arsenic he tries to deport forbidden immigrants. (Win McNamee/Getty Images and ICE)

"I want to spell backmost to nan original problem, that if this Trump management wasn’t overreaching for backstage people’s data, this would not moreover beryllium a conversation," Valencia said. "This is Trump doing a witch hunt and intentionally trying to instill fearfulness successful group truthful that they tin overtake our democracy."

The metropolis says it does not person to comply pinch ICE's administrative subpoena, but if ICE comes backmost pinch a tribunal bid it could group disconnected a ineligible battle.

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US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) knocks connected nan doorway of an alleged fishy during an ICE Raid successful Chicago, Illinois. (Photographer: Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

ICE and Valencia did not instantly respond to a petition for further comment.