Sanctuary or Sedition?

Brandon Johnson’s ICE-free fantasy isn’t about policy. It’s about deputizing citizens to break the law.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson sees himself as a disruptor. Last week, in a move that might be called political genius in a banana republic, he established “ICE-free zones.” These are pockets of the city where Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are told they may not tread. Schools, libraries, parks, maybe even hot dog stands. It’s less a policy than a Hogwarts spell: “Expecto Sanctuary!”

For now, it’s mostly harmless theater. The Constitution says the federal government can’t force local police to perform their work, so Johnson gets to puff out his chest and tell ICE: you can’t sit with us. The lawyers call this the “anti-commandeering doctrine.” The rest of us call it political virtue-signaling wrapped in a press release.

Groucho Marx was probably talking about Brandon Johnson when he said, “He may look like an idiot and talk like an idiot, but don’t let that fool you. He really is an idiot.” As foolish as Johnson may be, he’s at least smart enough to know that if he physically blocked ICE agents or ordered Chicago PD to confront them, he’d be slapped with obstruction charges faster than you can say “January 6th.” So, he plays a smarter game. He stops short of personally committing the crime while signaling to his citizens that they should.

Every fiery Johnson soundbite about ICE being “stormtroopers” or “an occupying army” is less about policy and more about programming the crowd. He’s not going to barricade City Hall doors himself, but if a group of sympathetic stooges shows up to do it for him, he can always just shrug and say, “Who, me?”

Obstruction by Any Other Name

Imagine ICE agents arriving at a Chicago community college with a lawful arrest warrant. The city responds by locking the doors and posting security guards to keep them out. Voilà! Johnson just turned his policy into federal obstruction of justice.

Or imagine Chicago police get a detainee ICE wants to pick up. Instead of turning him over, they slip him out the back like a maître d’ comping the check for a favorite customer. That’s not non-cooperation. That’s aiding and abetting.

Or better yet: ICE subpoenas housing records, and City Hall staff decide to treat them like Hillary’s email server: DELETE, DELETE, DELETE. Suddenly, the mayor’s ICE-free fantasy world clashes with the U.S. Code’s very real obstruction laws.

The only reason Johnson himself hasn’t crossed this line is that he’s outsourcing the heavy lifting, not to the police, but to the “resistance.”

Some might call this treason. Legally, treason requires waging war against the United States or aiding its enemies. Brandon Johnson isn’t forming a militia (though give him time because Chicago’s teachers’ unions are standing by), and he’s not shipping guns to Antifa, as far as we know. So no, the courts won’t label him a traitor.

But rhetorically? When you give wink-and-nod speeches encouraging your citizens to resist, you’re no longer just a sanctuary mayor. You’re auditioning for the role of “Governor of Treasonia.”

It’s not a policy; it’s a strategy. Johnson receives praise from the Left and claims the moral high ground, while his citizen-activists do the dirty work of obstruction for him. He gets plausible deniability, they get arrested, and everyone gets to pretend Chicago has struck a blow against Trump.

Treason Lite

Let’s call it what it is: Treason Lite. All the rebellion, none of the muskets. Johnson gets to preen as the modern Jefferson Davis of Wicker Park while his city keeps collecting checks from the same federal government he’s thumbing his nose at. It’s the kind of “resistance chic” that wins applause at progressive rallies. It causes some misguided 19-year-old activist to land in jail for obstructing federal officers while Johnson smirks from his perch at City Hall.

ICE-free zones are just bumper stickers until the day Johnson enforces them. But if he does -- with locked doors, shredded records, or cops forming a wall around a public library -- he won’t just be obstructing. He’ll be conducting a one-man secession experiment.

And while the Constitution might not label it treason, history would. Not because Johnson declared war, but because he cleverly outsourced sedition to his citizens while pretending to stay clean.

Chicago doesn’t need a Founding Father of the ICE-Free Republic. It needs a mayor.