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“I was at Ground Zero on 9/11, caught in both collapses at the World Trade Center,” McCarthy said. He’s seen danger up close, and he warns that sanctuary city policies are creating crises ICE wouldn’t have to confront if local officials followed the law.
How Sanctuary Policies Force Federal Agents Into Street Operations
The sequence is straightforward: local police arrest criminals. Those individuals are detained in secure jails. ICE issues detainer requests to hold them for 48 hours, allowing federal agents to take custody. Sanctuary cities refuse these requests, prioritizing political ideology over public safety.
The result is predictable—and deadly. ICE is left chasing criminals on the streets, leading to incidents like those in Minneapolis: shootings, car chases, and civilians caught in the crossfire.
“By not doing that, we’re forcing ICE and Border Patrol to go out and do the things that they are doing – which is causing much of these problems right here,” McCarthy told FOX32 Chicago.
The consequences are tragic: Renée Good, 37, shot dead in her car by an ICE agent on January 7th, and Alex Pretti, 37, a Virginia ICU nurse, killed on January 24th. These aren’t isolated incidents—federal agents have repeatedly opened fire during deportation operations since September.
The Simple Solution Sanctuary Cities Ignore
Immigration detainers are neither radical nor unconstitutional. They are simple requests: hold a criminal for two extra days while ICE arranges pickup. That’s it. The individual is already arrested, processed, and secured.
Yet Chicago, Minneapolis, and dozens of other cities refuse. Their excuse? “Civil liberties concerns.” The reality: they are creating situations where federal agents must execute operations on city streets, turning neighborhoods into war zones.
“Judges who facilitate that, like in Milwaukee,” McCarthy said, naming those who obstruct lawful enforcement. Democrats at every level—mayors, governors, and judges—are contributing to the chaos while publicly lamenting it.
Local Officials Block Law Enforcement Cooperation
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey told ICE to “get the fuck out of Minneapolis” and issued orders preventing local police from assisting federal agents. Governor Tim Walz backed him, effectively turning Minnesota into a battleground where law enforcement refuses to aid each other.
McCarthy is blunt: “If I was the superintendent of police here in Chicago and Rahm Emanuel told me not to back up another law enforcement agency or another law enforcement officer who needed help, I would disregard that direction and deal with the circumstances after the fact.” Sanctuary city policies have forced this kind of reckoning.
The Fix Is Simple, But Ignored
Operation Metro Surge sent 2,000 federal agents to Minneapolis—the largest immigration enforcement operation in U.S. history—because sanctuary policies made the city a magnet for illegal activity. Yet every instance of violence could be avoided if cities simply honored detainers: arrest, secure custody, transfer to ICE. No street chases, no dead Americans.
McCarthy summarized the path forward: “Let’s all be moderates for once – and see if we can get something done.” Coming from a 9/11 survivor, a father who lost his daughter to border drugs, and a decades-long law enforcement veteran, his words carry weight.
But Democrats have chosen defiance over solutions. They maintain policies that endanger citizens, then blame Republicans for the chaos. American lives are at risk, and until sanctuary city leaders prioritize law over ideology, the cycle of violence will continue.
