Chicago Mayor Declares 'ICE Free Zone' For Whom, Exactly?
While Mayor Johnson's executive order prohibits city agencies from cooperating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) without a judicial warrant, it conspicuously sidesteps addressing Chicago's significant contracts with Palantir Technologies. Palantir, co-founded by tech mogul Peter Thiel, is a notorious data analytics firm whose software powers ICE's deportation dragnet. The city of
Chicago, through various departments, has active contracts with Palantir, effectively funding the very federal enforcement infrastructure it claims to be resisting. So, an "ICE-free zone" that still pumps taxpayer dollars into the data backbone of ICE operations. One might wonder if this is an actual shield or just municipal virtue signaling, allowing the city to appear progressive while subtly
lubricating the gears of the federal deportation machine. How many 'ice-free zones' does it take before we question the definition of 'free'?