Since President Donald Trump took office in January, Chicago has been thrust into the immigration debate as “ground zero” for deportations, in part due to its Welcoming City ordinance.

Chicago is no stranger to this spotlight. In fact, its stance on newcomers has repeatedly forecasted national sentiment, often led by the city’s mayor. During cultural shifts or an economic downturn in the city, it was always convenient to blame the latest group of arrivals. But other leaders embraced them, taking cues from everyday Chicagoans who pushed back.

Here’s a look at the relationship between Chicago mayors and newcomers — and how our immigrant neighbors have inextricably shaped the city’s culture.

The beginning of immigrant organizing

One of the city’s most famous anti-immigrant incidents happened because of a one-term mayor, Levi Boone.

The 17th mayor of Chicago ran on a pro-temperance and anti-immigrant platform in 1855, two issues that were linked in Boone’s mind.

“He was affiliated with a political party called the Native American party. Now, this isn’t referring to indigenous people. Instead, what it meant was people who had been born in the United States,” said Paul Durica, director of exhibitions at the Chicago History Museum.

Portrait of Chicago Mayor Levi D. Boone (1808-1882), Chicago, Illinois.

Boone thought of himself as a self-made man, after growing up in poverty, becoming a doctor and moving to Chicago in 1835. By the time he ran for mayor, Chicago’s population had grown sharply because of Irish and German immigrants.

Many of these immigrants ran taverns and saloons; Germans would often gather at beer gardens after church on Sundays with the whole family. Troubled by the way these newcomers were shifting the city’s culture, Boone “puts in rules that basically mandate that anyone who works for the city of Chicago had to have been born in the United States,” Durica said.

Boone also signed off on a policy that increased the liquor license from $50 a year to $300, specifically to punish these immigrant-owned businesses.

Irish and German immigrants came together to protest the changes outside the Cook County courthouse. The incident, known as the Lager Beer Riot , turned violent; an officer lost his arm to a gunshot wound and a German man was killed.

“[It] probably lasts all of about 15 minutes, but the effect of it is profound,” Durica said. ”This marks the first incident that we know of civil unrest [in Chicago] … of groups coming together to protest city policies.”

In the riot’s aftermath, immigrant communities became more involved and invested in local politics. Boone didn’t run for reelection and his party never regained power.

“It sort of changes the way in which city politics operates moving forward,” Durica said.

Building the first broad-based white-immigrant coalition

Historians often cite William “Big Bill” Hale Thompson as one of the most unethical mayors in American history. He had a big personality and an open alliance with mob boss Al Capone, a major campaign donor. But another part of Thompson’s legacy is the way his term led to deep divisions between different groups.

During his first term in 1915, Thompson endeared himself to German immigrants by shunning British and French immigrants, earning the nickname “Kaiser” during World War I.

Full-length portrait of William Hale Thompson, striking a speaking pose, in a room in Chicago, Illinois. He is looking toward the camera and holding up one finger.

“He was able to stir enough of these passions against different immigrant groups,” Durica said. “Getting them to fight amongst each other … he’s able to be re-elected.”

But that strategy backfired in 1931, when Thompson ran for mayor for a third time. He made anti-immigrant attacks against his opponent Anton Cermak, then the Cook County Board president, who had emigrated from what is now the Czech Republic. Thompson came up with an insulting song for his opponent: “I won’t take a back seat to that Bohunk, Chairmock, Chermack or whatever his name is.”

“[Thompson] makes a great deal out of the fact that Cermak … was a Bohemian,” Durica said. “How can you trust someone from this ethnic background?”

During that time, different ethnic groups had separate fiefdoms in the city. For example, Polish politicians might have control in one area, while Italians oversaw other wards. Recognizing these groups as disenfranchised voters, Cermak built an alliance.

“Cermak actually instead uses his status as an immigrant as a strength,” Durica said. “He talks about how he may not have been born in the United States, but he and his family got here as soon as they could. They’re very proud of being residents of the U.S.”

The result was the first broadly based white-immigrant political coalition in the city. But even that development shaped Chicago in mixed ways: This was the beginning of the powerful political machine , which would be rife with corruption and patronage.

Democratic victors for leading county offices receive returns which insure their election. Above (left to right)- Anton J. Cermak, re-elected president of the county board; Clayton Smith , democratic leader, who congratulated winning candidates , and J.B. McDonough, elected treasurer.

Creating a sanctuary for all

Perhaps the strongest mayoral stance in favor of immigrant populations came from Mayor Harold Washington. Before taking office in 1983, he faced a tough campaign that subjected him to racist attacks.

“Harold Washington recognized that in order to win, he’d have to broaden his support,” Durica said. “He reached out to other communities in the city, found allies in individuals like Rudy Lozano, for example, who helped to mobilize the Mexican community here in the city … and was able to create a coalition that was very much interested in supporting the interests of all Chicagoans.”

That move ultimately helped him win the election.

Left: Visiting Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) sings the praise of Mayor Harold Washington, who donned a sobrero during a campaign rally at La Hacienda Restaurant in Little Village in 1987. Right: Mayor Harold Washington campaigning on election day with Juan Velazquezé.

During Washington’s tenure, President Ronald Reagan worked to tighten security at the Mexican border and threatened steep penalties for employers who hired undocumented immigrants. In 1985, Washington signed an executive order making Chicago a sanctuary city.

“The most important aspect of that ordinance is to prevent the police from cooperating with [federal immigration authorities] in deporting immigrants,” said Dick Simpson, a professor of political science at the University of Illinois Chicago.

This move was an important step under Washington — and a major turning point in the city’s history.

“Political historians talk about before Harold and after Harold,” Simpson said. “For instance, on affirmative action jobs at City Hall … for the first time, [contracts] are not being primarily granted to whites. They’re being granted to all of the groups in the city of Chicago.”

In 2006, during Mayor Richard M. Daley’s administration, the Welcoming City ordinance formalized the city’s sanctuary status. The law would go through a few changes over the years, allowing varying degrees of cooperation between local and federal law enforcement. Today, Chicago Police are prohibited from working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Protest at the Federal Building, 230 South Dearborn Street, over shooting of undocumented Mexican immigrant, Chicago, Illinois.

Mayor Brandon Johnson, right, and Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th) meet migrants staying at the 12th District police station. Johnson said tackling the issue of immigration is going to take a collaborative effort between city, state and federal leaders in partnership with philanthropic organizations and community-based organizations.

Regardless of immigration status, all city residents have access to city services. That’s been called into question by the Trump administration, and Mayor Brandon Johnson has been defending it.

“We’re going to fight and stand up for working people. That’s what Chicago is known for,” Johnson said at a congressional hearing in January. “We’re going to continue to do that regardless of who’s in the White House.”

Durica said Johnson, like other Chicago mayors, is taking a page from the playbook of everyday people who stand up for their neighbors and shape public policy.

“Chicago has a rich and deep history of organizing, particularly at the sort of neighborhood and community level,” Durica said, adding Chicagoans tend to defend the city, even if they’ve only recently arrived.

“Because how dare anyone outside Chicago kind of tell us who we are and how we should live our lives?” he said. “We’re going to come together, and we’re going to push against this.”