Expanded ‘Welcoming City’ ordinance advanced: ‘A long time coming’ on Lightfoot campaign promise 

Advocates for undocumented immigrants celebrated a string of substantive and symbolic victories Tuesday as aldermen advanced a measure to firm up protections for foreign-born residents on President Donald Trump’s last full day in office. 

During their first-ever meeting, the members of the City Council Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights voted unanimously to approve a proposal by Mayor Lori Lightfoot and a handful of aldermen to eliminate carve-outs in the city’s 2012 “Welcoming City” ordinance that allowed police to cooperate with federal immigration agents in some limited cases. The newer ordinance strikes language that allows such cooperation in cases that involve any suspect who has an “outstanding criminal warrant,” has been charged or convicted of a felony or “has been identified as a known gang member either in a law enforcement agency's database or by his own admission.”