CHICAGO — Following the recent efforts to weaken Chicago’s protections for immigrant and undocumented neighbors, State Senator Graciela Guzmán issued the following statement in support of the decision to keep Chicago a sanctuary city and leave the Chicago Welcoming City Ordinance intact:

“Over the past week, many in our community have been stressed and confused by alder people who brought Chicago’s welcoming city ordinance into contention. My heart goes out to everyone who was personally affected by this decision and the hateful, anti-immigrant discussion surrounding the recent city council proposal. I am grateful that Chicago’s City Council decided to firmly maintain our city’s status as a sanctuary city—reaffirming our commitment to be a welcome, safe space for all residents, documented or undocumented—and ensure that Chicago law enforcement will not be allowed to work with federal immigration agents on cases.

“While I am thankful for the elected officials that doubled down on their commitment to representing the welcoming, inclusive spirit of Chicago with their vote on this proposal, I am even more awestruck by how our community rallied in support of our undocumented neighbors in the days leading up to this decision. I am proud of our community and for the hundreds of people and community organizations who showed out in opposition of this hateful initiative. They demonstrate an important tenet: if there is an attack on the immigrant community, it is an attack on all of us. We will continue to build on the wins of this week moving forward to ensure the protections for our immigrant communities continue to be the law of the land. We will do it together by centering the power we have as a collective. You can count on my commitment to fight for immigrant rights in our state with everything I have.”