Chicago’s status as a sanctuary city dates back to 1985 when Mayor Harold Washington issued an executive order prohibiting city agencies from inquiring about immigration status when providing services. That included police not asking crime victims or witnesses about their immigration status. It was updated in 2012 by then Mayor Rahm Emanuel who sponsored a City Council-approved ordinance dictating, among other things, that Chicago police could turn over information to federal immigration agents on immigrants only if they are wanted on a criminal warrant or have been convicted of a serious crime.