ICE Subpoena Sends City of Chicago Scrambling to Hide Illegal Alien Records [WATCH]

The Chicago City Clerk’s Office has suspended online applications for its CityKey identification program following a subpoena from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) requesting data on applicants.

The decision was announced by City Clerk Anna Valencia on Friday, following ICE’s formal request for information submitted through the program’s digital portal.

CityKey IDs are municipal identification cards available to Chicago residents, regardless of immigration status, gender identity, or criminal background.

Update: Chicago suspends online CityKey ID program after getting subpoena from ICE.
87,000+ applicants from 2022-2025. ID said to be popular with noncitizens.
ID to be available in person–City says ‘no written trail that identifies applicants.’https://t.co/ZYIxQBOYl7 https://t.co/UbDDWvVyhw

— Beverly A. Pekala (@PekalaLaw) June 14, 2025

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The move comes amid a broader effort by the Trump administration to locate and deport illegal immigrants who entered the country during the Biden-Harris administration.

Federal immigration enforcement officials have increasingly targeted local jurisdictions that have publicly declared themselves sanctuary cities or implemented programs that limit cooperation with federal authorities.

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Chicago has been one of the most outspoken among these municipalities.

The Chicago Tribune reported that when the CityKey program was launched in 2017, it was structured to minimize exposure to federal immigration enforcement by processing applications in person and avoiding digital storage of sensitive information.

However, in recent years, as the number of migrants entering the city surged, an online application option was added.

Documents submitted through the platform were stored digitally and are subject to state public records laws, meaning they cannot be legally destroyed.

The government already has all our info:
📂 Licenses
💳 Passports
🧾 Tax returns

But @ICEgov asks for CityKey records—
and Chicago acts like it’s a human rights violation.

They’re not protecting privacy.
They’re protecting illegal aliens.#Chicago #SanctuaryCities… pic.twitter.com/Lapd4cjJfc

— Jen (@IlliniJen) June 7, 2025

In response to growing concerns from immigrant advocacy groups over the vulnerability of digital records, Valencia chose to pause the online application process.

“We did hear, ‘Let’s pause the online platform temporarily as we take a pulse and evaluate what’s happening,’” Valencia told the Tribune.

“We’re going to assess what’s happening daily and where the climate is, and if we feel we are in a different place, we can easily turn the online platform back on, but we are not going anywhere.”

A May 2024 amendment to Chicago’s municipal code confirmed that data submitted through the online portal would be stored.

That clarification prompted further alarm among advocacy organizations and immigration rights supporters.

Valencia emphasized that, despite the subpoena, no data had been released to federal immigration officials.

“Listen, I’ve always been honest and transparent and led with integrity,” she said.

“I know there’s a lot of fear out there, so I want to be very clear that we’re going to fight giving over any data to the federal government… No data was given over to ICE, period, zero, for the CityKey.”

Valencia further criticized President Trump’s immigration enforcement strategy, saying, “I want to go back to the original problem, that if this Trump administration wasn’t overreaching for private people’s data, this would not even be a conversation. This is Trump doing a witch hunt and intentionally trying to instill fear in people so that they can overtake our democracy.”

ICE’s subpoena is administrative, meaning compliance by the city is not mandatory.

However, if ICE returns with a federal court order, it could escalate into a legal confrontation between the city of Chicago and the federal government.

The future of the online CityKey system remains uncertain as city officials continue to monitor the situation.

The in-person application process remains available for those seeking a municipal ID.

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