Brandon Johnson has lost his mind.
The mayor of America’s most dangerous major city just signed an executive order directing the Chicago Police Department to investigate, pursue, and file criminal referrals against federal immigration agents.
Not the gang members shooting up his streets.
Not the drug dealers poisoning his communities.
Not the carjackers terrorizing his residents.
ICE agents. The people trying to remove criminals from Chicago neighborhoods.
That’s who Brandon Johnson wants arrested.
The Executive Order
Johnson signed the order Saturday, directing CPD to “investigate” ICE agents and file criminal referrals against them for alleged “misconduct.”
His press release claims the order “creates a framework for public accountability in the event federal agents violate local or state law while operating in Chicago.”
“Nobody is above the law,” Johnson declared. “There is no such thing as ‘absolute immunity’ in America.”
The irony of a sanctuary city mayor — who literally refuses to enforce federal law — lecturing anyone about being “above the law” is staggering.
The Fantasy
Let’s walk through what Johnson is actually proposing.
A Chicago police officer encounters ICE agents arresting an illegal immigrant. Under Johnson’s order, the CPD officer is supposed to “investigate” the federal agents. Supervisors are to “preserve evidence.” The mayor’s office directs criminal referrals to the Cook County State’s Attorney.
In what universe does a city police officer arrest a federal agent executing a federal warrant?
It’s constitutionally illiterate. Federally preempted. Legally impossible.
But it makes for a great press release if your audience doesn’t understand how government works.
The Police Union Response
Chicago Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara had the best description of Johnson’s order.
“A piece of toilet paper.”
That’s what the cops who would actually have to enforce this order think of it.
Catanzara continued: “The only good thing in that piece of toilet paper is ‘no CPD member will be required to arrest any federal agents.'”
Even Johnson’s own order contains an escape clause. He knows his officers won’t do it. He knows it’s unenforceable. The whole thing is theater.
The Legal Ignorance
Catanzara exposed the fundamental incompetence behind the order.
“To demonstrate the level of incompetence in the mayor’s office, corporation counsel and law department, I simply point out the line about most immigration matters being civil and not criminal.”
Johnson’s team apparently doesn’t understand basic immigration law.
Catanzara educated them: “Entering illegally is a misdemeanor that is punishable up to six months in jail. A second offense is a felony with up to two years in jail.”
Illegal entry is a crime. The mayor of Chicago and his entire legal team don’t seem to know that.
These are the people claiming the authority to judge whether federal agents are acting lawfully.
The Activist Report Problem
Johnson’s order requires CPD officers to take reports from civilians about alleged ICE misconduct.
Catanzara flagged why this is dangerous: “Citizens can also be named offenders” and may be “the guilty parties simply trying to throw shade at ICE for political reasons.”
Anti-ICE activists will flood the system with fabricated complaints. Every arrest, every detention, every enforcement action will generate a civilian report claiming misconduct.
CPD will be buried in paperwork from people who are themselves obstructing federal operations.
The entire mechanism is designed to overwhelm and obstruct — not to ensure accountability.
The Real Crime Numbers
Here’s what Brandon Johnson should be focused on instead.
Chicago in 2025: 362 people shot and killed. 1,954 total shot.
January 2026 alone: 28 killed, 131 shot.
One month. Twenty-eight dead. In his city. Under his leadership.
That’s nearly one murder per day. In the city where the mayor is directing police resources toward investigating ICE agents.
Every officer assigned to “investigate” federal agents is an officer not investigating actual murders, not patrolling actual neighborhoods, not protecting actual Chicago residents.
Johnson is choosing illegal immigrants over his own citizens’ safety.
The Sanctuary Hypocrisy
“Nobody is above the law,” Johnson says.
Except illegal immigrants. They’re apparently above the law.
Johnson’s sanctuary city policies explicitly instruct CPD not to cooperate with immigration enforcement. Don’t honor detainers. Don’t share information. Don’t assist with arrests.
The law says illegal entry is a crime. Johnson says don’t enforce it.
The law says federal agents have authority to enforce immigration statutes. Johnson says arrest them for doing it.
He’s not for the rule of law. He’s for selective law enforcement based on political ideology.
The ICE-Free Zones
This isn’t Johnson’s first attempt to obstruct federal enforcement.
In October, he signed an executive order creating “ICE-free zones” — areas where immigration arrests would be impeded.
Now he’s escalating from obstruction to prosecution.
The trajectory is clear: first, don’t cooperate. Then, create barriers. Then, arrest the agents.
The next step — if someone doesn’t stop him — would be physical confrontation between CPD and federal agents.
That’s the road Johnson is paving. And the consequences could be catastrophic.
The Federal Response
Johnson’s order is meaningless from a legal standpoint.
Federal supremacy is established constitutional law. State and local authorities cannot arrest federal agents executing federal duties. This was settled in McCulloch v. Maryland in 1819.
Any CPD officer who actually attempted to arrest an ICE agent would face federal obstruction charges. Any state attorney who prosecuted a federal agent for conducting authorized operations would face federal consequences.
Tom Homan has been clear: federal agents will enforce the law regardless of local sanctuary policies. “We’re coming,” he said. No executive order from a city mayor changes that.
The Political Calculation
Johnson is performing for his base.
His approval rating is in free fall. Chicago residents are angry about crime, about the migrant crisis, about the billions spent housing illegal immigrants while neighborhoods crumble.
He can’t fix any of those problems. So he creates a distraction.
Declare war on ICE. Sign dramatic executive orders. Hold press conferences about accountability.
None of it stops the shootings. None of it fixes the schools. None of it addresses the fact that Chicago has become a war zone on his watch.
But it gives progressive activists something to cheer about while the city burns.
The Bottom Line
Brandon Johnson wants to arrest ICE agents for enforcing federal law.
His own police union called the order “a piece of toilet paper.”
His legal team doesn’t understand that illegal entry is a crime.
His city had 362 people shot dead last year and 28 killed in January alone.
And he’s directing police resources toward investigating federal officers instead of the gang members slaughtering his residents.
This is what happens when ideology replaces governance. When performance replaces policy. When a mayor cares more about protecting illegal immigrants than protecting his own citizens.
Chicago deserves better.
Chicago’s residents — the ones dodging bullets, burying children, and praying they survive the commute home — deserve a mayor who fights for them.
Instead, they got Brandon Johnson, waving his toilet paper executive order while the body count rises.