Chicago City Clerk Anna Valencia has temporarily shut down the online application system for the city’s CityKey identification program following a subpoena from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) seeking data on applicants.
The move underscores growing tension between federal immigration authorities under President Donald Trump and local governments, particularly those in Democratic-led cities, that have taken steps to shield undocumented immigrants from deportation.
Valencia confirmed the decision in an interview with the Chicago Tribune, noting that her office would pause the online platform “to take a pulse and evaluate what’s happening.” She added, “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.”
The CityKey program, launched in 2017, offers Chicago residents a form of municipal identification regardless of immigration status, gender identity, or prior criminal history. When first introduced, the program emphasized privacy protections by requiring in-person applications and limiting the retention of documents to avoid compromising applicants’ information.
However, in response to an influx of migrants and increased demand, the city later implemented an online portal—one that, due to public records laws, retains submitted documents and is subject to federal scrutiny.
In May 2024, the Chicago City Council amended the municipal code to clarify that information provided via the online platform must be stored. That decision, coupled with ICE’s subpoena, raised alarms among immigration advocates concerned the stored data could be used to facilitate deportations.
ICE has stepped up enforcement efforts nationwide as part of President Trump’s push to deport large numbers of undocumented immigrants who entered the U.S. under the Biden administration. That includes seeking data from local ID programs like CityKey, which critics argue can serve as de facto registries of undocumented residents.
City Clerk Valencia emphasized that the CityKey program itself is not being discontinued.
“We are not going anywhere,” she said, but added that her office is committed to reassessing the platform’s future “based on the current climate.”
With input from Fox News
