CITY HALL — Wearing lapel pins with twinned American and Mexican flags, Mayor Rahm Emanuel Friday vowed to "build bridges not walls" despite President Donald Trump's vow to crack down on illegal immigration.
During a visit to Chicago by Mexico City Mayor Miguel Ángel Mancera, Guadalajara Mayor Enrique Alfaro and Juarez City Mayor Héctor Armando Cabada Alvídrez, Emanuel promised to keep collaborating with his Mexican counterparts regardless of Trump's actions and rhetoric.
"Chicago, Mexico City, Guadalajara and Juarez may be miles apart but we are here to build bridges, not walls," Emanuel said.
The four-way mayoral summit was arranged relatively quickly after Trump signed an executive order designed to crack down on the estimated 11 million immigrants living here illegally.
Citing no evidence to back up his claims, Trump Wednesday said much of the violence in Chicago is caused by "gang members many of whom are not even legally in our country."
Flanked by Mexican and American flags, the mayors of Mexico City, Guadalajara and Juarez City all praised Emanuel for his insistence that Chicago will remain a sanctuary city despite Trump's move to yank millions of dollars from Chicago as punishment.
Emanuel also said he would continue to work to protect young, undocumented immigrants — known as DREAMers — who came to the United States as children.
"You're safe, you're secure and you're supported in the city of Chicago," Emanuel said speaking to the DREAMers.
Trump has ordered a wall be built along the southern border of the United States to stop illegal immigration and to "save thousands of lives, millions of jobs and billions and billions of dollars."
Emanuel declined to speculate how much money Chicago stands to lose for being a sanctuary city, nor has he said how he would fill the hole that such a move could put in the city's budget.
Included in the mayor's proposed 2017 budget is $1 million to establish a municipal identification card for undocumented immigrants.
However, several groups made up of Black and Latino Chicagoans said Emanuel should do more to protect those targeted by Trump and close what they called "loopholes" in the city's ordinance.
