Chicago's Welcoming City Ordinance MCC Ch. 2-173 bars city resources from federal civil immigration enforcement. Adopted in 2012 and strengthened in 2021, the rule blocks ICE detainers without a judicial warrant.
MCC Ch. 2-173, originally enacted in 2012 as the Welcoming City Ordinance and strengthened by amendments through 2021, prohibits Chicago Police Department and other city agencies from using personnel, funds, or facilities to enforce federal civil immigration law. Officers may not ask about immigration status, detain individuals on civil ICE detainers, share non-public information for civil immigration purposes, or grant ICE access to non-public city facilities. The 2021 amendments removed prior carve-outs for gang-database listings, pending criminal warrants, and felony convictions, making protections among the strongest in the nation. Federal supremacy still applies for criminal judicial warrants. Illinois TRUST Act provides parallel statewide limits.
City employees who breach MCC 2-173 face administrative discipline up to termination. The ordinance binds the city, not residents or private businesses, so no civil fines apply to private parties.
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