Donald Trump speaks at a rally in Chicago. | AP Photo/John Locher Defying Trump, Chicago will continue as immigrant sanctuary

CHICAGO — Joining other cities around the country, Chicago is pledging to remain a sanctuary city for undocumented immigrants, an act of defiance in the face of Donald Trump’s past promise to cut off those cities from federal funding.

In sanctuary cities, local law enforcement officials aren’t required to alert U.S. Immigration and Customs authorities about the immigration status of individuals with whom they come in contact.


On Monday, Chicago's elected officials, including Mayor Rahm Emanuel, are expected to hold a news conference to formally discuss how the city will retain its sanctuary status. Aldermen are expected to call on Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner to pressure Trump to back off his vow to interfere with funding.

“Across the country and in Chicago and Illinois ... young men and women [are] very distraught about this,” Chicago Alderman Danny Solis told POLITICO Illinois on Sunday.

Solis is among those planning to attend the news conference with Emanuel. "There’s some people, though I disagree with them, but I have some respect for — Paul Ryan, Reince Priebus," Solis said, referring to the House speaker and the RNC chairman who will serve as Trump's chief of staff. "I’m hoping that those guys have much more influence on Trump and what needs to be done not only on his first 100 days, but in his term."

Illinois Comptroller-elect Susana Mendoza, whose parents are Mexican immigrants, called on Rauner to take a stand on the issue.

“As a leader of this state, the governor, and everyone in a leadership position, should be saying it’s wrong,” Mendoza told POLITICO Illinois on Sunday. “I would expect that the governor would say, ‘that’s ridiculous.’ Besides moral bankruptcy, it’s bad fiscal policy for the city or any city.”

The move is largely motivated by elected officials who say they’ve heard from terrified residents, including so-called Dreamers (children whose parents entered the country illegally), who fear imminent deportation. On Sunday, Emanuel’s office released a statement directing those with questions or in need of legal resources to call 311.

“I want to assure all of our families that Chicago is and will remain a sanctuary city,” Emanuel said in a statement. “Chicago has been a city of immigrants since it was founded. We have always welcomed people of all faiths and backgrounds, and while the administration will change, our values and our commitment to inclusion will not.”

Since Tuesday’s election, other cities that have affirmed their commitment to remaining sanctuaries include New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Philadelphia and San Francisco.

There are dozens of sanctuary cities in the United States and more than 100 jurisdictions have policies on the books that limit compliance with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

In a "60 Minutes" interview on Sunday, Trump vowed to deport 2 million to 3 million undocumented immigrants, but seemed to make a distinction between ones who had committed crimes — presumably beyond immigrating illegally — and ones who hadn't.

“What we are going to do is get the people that are criminal and have criminal records -- gang members, drug dealers -- where a lot of these people, probably two million, it could be even three million, we are getting them out of our country or we are going to incarcerate," he said. "But we’re getting them out of our country, they’re here illegally.

“After the border is secure and after everything gets normalized, we’re going to make a determination on the people that they’re talking about who are terrific people, they’re terrific people but we are gonna make a determination at that. But before we make that determination, it’s very important, we are going to secure our border.”

The immigration issue was central to Trump’s candidacy, framed by his pledge to build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico.

Neither Trump nor Rauner spokespeople responded to request for comment on Sunday.