Whereas the Constitution of the United States establishes and assigns to the Federal Government the exclusive authority to regulate immigration and naturalization;

Whereas Immigration and Customs Enforcement (referred to in this preamble as ICE) is authorized under Federal law to execute the lawful deportation and removal of criminal aliens who have violated the immigration laws of the United States;

Whereas State and local policies that seek to nullify or obstruct Federal immigration enforcement violate the Constitution and the principles of federalism;

Whereas the situation in the State of Illinois, particularly in and around the city of Chicago, has deteriorated to a point where Federal facilities and personnel can no longer operate without significant protection and public safety has collapsed;

Whereas the city of Chicago has experienced catastrophic levels of violent crime, with 5,220 homicides between 2017 and 2024, an average of 652 per year, exceeding the annual combat deaths of United States forces in Iraq (435 per year from 2003 through 2010) and Afghanistan (141 per year from 2001 through 2014);

Whereas Chicago has become what can only be described as a combat zone, with certain police districts experiencing homicide rates exceeding 70 per 100,000 residents;

Whereas the Cook County State Attorney’s office implemented pro-criminal policies from 2017 through 2022 that have caused a dramatic increase in violent crime, including an increase in average annual homicides from 510 homicides from 2011 through 2016 to 652 homicides from 2017 through 2024, and an increase in reported rapes from an average of 1,486 per year from 2014 through 2016 to 1,804 per year from 2017 through 2022;

Whereas these prosecutorial policies included releasing violent criminals without appropriate bail and consequences, as well as undermining Illinois felony retail theft statutes by unilaterally raising the prosecution threshold from $300 to $1,000 in 2017, resulting in a dramatic increase in retail theft across the city;

Whereas such negligent criminal justice policies have created an environment in which violent criminals, including criminal aliens subject to deportation, operate with impunity;

Whereas Federal facilities in Illinois, including those directly supporting ICE, have come under coordinated assault by violent groups intent on obstructing Federal law enforcement activities;

Whereas these groups have sought to impede the deportation and removal of criminal aliens through violent demonstrations, intimidation, and sabotage of Federal operations;

Whereas these violent activities are increasing in frequency and intensity, threatening the safety of Federal law enforcement and personnel and compromising the integrity of Federal operations;

Whereas, while peaceful protest and political activism are protected rights under the Constitution, such rights do not extend to violent assaults on Federal facilities, intimidation of Federal law enforcement, or sabotage of lawful operations;

Whereas acts of lawlessness and anarchy cannot be disguised as activism and political violence cannot be legitimized;

Whereas certain far-left State and local governments operate under a distorted understanding of federalism that runs only 1 way, demanding and expecting Federal funding and assistance while rejecting any reciprocal obligation to cooperate with Federal law enforcement agencies to ensure public safety and protect the lives of their residents;

Whereas the success of Federal law enforcement operations in Washington, DC, which resulted in a nearly 60-percent reduction in homicides and a 17-percent decrease in violent crime following enhanced Federal enforcement beginning August 7, 2025, demonstrates that dramatic crime reduction is possible when there is political will to enforce the law;

Whereas the Mayor of Chicago has signed an Executive order preventing city cooperation with Federal immigration authorities and has repeatedly affirmed the city’s intent to resist lawful ICE operations;

Whereas the National Fraternal Order of Police, the largest police union in the country, has condemned orders that prevent Chicago officers from assisting ICE when agents face violent resistance, endangering both Federal officers and the public;

Whereas the Governor of Illinois has demonized brave Federal law enforcement agents, including by publicly calling them jackbooted thugs;

Whereas ICE is facing a 500-percent increase in assaults while carrying out enforcement operations;

Whereas these activities are not occurring in isolation but are similar to ongoing efforts in multiple other States and cities around the country to disrupt the faithful enforcement of Federal law;

Whereas such obstruction threatens public safety, particularly in disadvantaged communities that bear the brunt of violent crime; and

Whereas the Federal Government has both the authority and the obligation to ensure that Federal law enforcement personnel can execute their lawfully assigned duties without violent interference and that the residents of Illinois, particularly those in the most vulnerable communities, are protected from rampant violent crime: Now, therefore, be it