In a moment that quickly turned combative and politically charged, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson found himself at the center of a heated exchange with a reporter over terminology — and, by extension, over his administration’s immigration policy.
When asked about his office’s delay in submitting a report to the White House regarding the city’s spending on illegal aliens — a legal term for individuals residing in the U.S. without legal authorization — Johnson bristled.
“We don’t have illegal aliens,” he responded sharply, suggesting that the term itself was not just offensive but inherently racist. He took it further: “The legal term for my people were slaves. You want me to use that term, too?” With that rhetorical pivot, Johnson attempted to shift the conversation from policy to semantics — and from enforcement to emotion.
The reporter pushed back, citing the legality of the term and its presence in federal law. But Johnson wasn’t having it. “Let’s just get the language right,” he insisted. “We’re talking about undocumented individuals that are human beings.”
He accused the reporter of trying to use “racist, nasty language” to frame the issue and later posted a clip of the exchange to Instagram, stating, “These are human beings. We will not abandon our humanity to score cheap political points.”
But beyond the rhetoric lies a policy undercurrent that is drawing increasing scrutiny. Earlier this month, Johnson signed an executive order formalizing “ICE-free zones” across the city — effectively banning federal immigration enforcement operations on city property and in certain private spaces unless specifically allowed. Chicago, already a sanctuary city, has now cemented its posture of non-cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
The tension between local and federal agencies escalated just weeks later. During “Operation Midway Blitz,” a federal immigration sweep across Illinois, over 1,000 arrests were made. But the operation didn’t come without resistance. On October 4, ICE agents in Chicago were ambushed in what DHS described as a coordinated attack.
Vehicles rammed law enforcement units; ICE officers were boxed in and forced to exit on foot. One attacker, armed with a semi-automatic weapon, was shot after allegedly threatening agents and later sought treatment at a hospital.
According to DHS, the attacker had previously targeted agents online, encouraging violence and doxxing their identities. Despite the severity of the situation, the Chicago Police Department declined to provide support — a move that further highlights the growing divide between city officials and federal enforcement efforts.
