As Chicago braces for threat of mass deportations, it's losing its quarterback on migrant issues

Chicago is losing the quarterback of its response to the migrant crisis at a time when the incoming Trump administration has threatened to make Chicago ground zero for mass deportations.

Brandie Knazze is stepping down as commissioner of the city’s Department of Family and Support Services, effective Dec. 31. After four years in the pressure cooker job, she is moving to the lower-stress non-profit world, although she refused to say which one.

Knazze stressed that the decision to leave is hers alone. Although the timing for Chicago and embattled Mayor Brandon Johnson is not great, Knazze stressed that she is not leaving because of any policy disagreement with the mayor.

“I have covered every major crisis the city has had since 2017," Knazze said. "I have helped so many people. I helped with the recovery plan from COVID. I have helped with the migrant crisis. I did the [city’s response to] civil unrest. I’ve done great work. I’m proud of the work that I did for Mayor Emanuel, Mayor Lightfoot and Mayor Johnson.”

“I’m on call 24/7. There’s always something going on. I have to think about my own health, my personal life. My family. You can’t give to others [forever]. You have to think about what’s next for myself and my own career journey.”

She flatly denied that her departure just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20 leaves Chicago in the lurch.

“It’s not bad timing for Chicago," Knazze said. "This is a good time because now, the team can go on to their next journey. …When you build a good team, it doesn’t matter who’s at the top.”

However, Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th), chair of the City Council’s Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights, said the timing of Knazze’s exit couldn’t be worse.

“With Trump coming, we’ve got the migrant issue. We’ve got folks who are going to need support," Vasquez said. "To have somebody [new] come in—there’s a learning curve. And right now, we can’t afford that.”

Senior mayoral adviser Jason Lee said Knazze “served for a very long time under some very adverse conditions.

“She stepped up for the people of Chicago and worked diligently to try to address these unprecedented situations, and didn’t waver in her commitment to finding solutions,” Lee said.

Lee did not say who would replace Knazze, but stressed the city has a “capable team” that can pick up where she leaves off.

The Johnson administration has a “whole government-wide initiative” working to look at vulnerabilities the incoming Trump administration could attempt to exploit, Lee said. “We feel comfortable with where we are.”

In a letter to social service providers, Knazze cited several of her accomplishments, including the set-up of nearly 40 shelters for the thousands of migrant arrivals from Texas, as well as coordinating for the incoming migrants medical care, food service, school enrollment and work permits.

She also cited the implementation of four cash assistance programs, including one for survivors of gender-based violence, and the launch of a re-entry program for people recently released from prison.

During the height of the city's migrant crisis, Knazze faced difficult choices that angered some City Council members and their constituents.

Scores of asylum seekers sent on buses to Chicago by GOP Texas Gov. Greg Abbott were forced to sleep on floors at O’Hare Airport and police stations.
The Johnson administration also infuriated alderpersons by closing Park District fieldhouses used for recreation and cultural events.

The mayor chose an abandoned industrial site at 38th and California in the Brighton Park neighborhood as the venue for a “winterized base camp” for thousands of migrants. That site turned out to be contaminated; Gov. J.B. Pritzker stepped in and blocked its use, exacerbating tensions between the city and state.

Knazze refused to second-guess any of those decisions.

“It’s hard when you get ten buses a day and you are thinking about people. I didn’t move widgets. I moved people," Knazze said. "And no matter what, whether they were new arrivals or homeless individuals, people trusted me with their lives. They looked into my eyes and they had to make sure that, when I told them we would keep them safe, that we did that.”

“You are never perfect. But when people are hungry [and] babies are crying, all you can do is treat them like you would treat your own family," Knazze added. "My mom is from Central America. So, this is personal.”

During the migrant crisis, Vasquez clashed with Johnson and Knazze, demanding more information about the conditions and complaints at city shelters, particularly after a five-year-old boy died at a migrant shelter in Pilsen in December 2023.

But he never questioned Knazze’s commitment to the all-important job.

“I remember calling her on a weekend just because I happened to see somebody unhoused at a park," Vasquez said. "And she would just be on it at all times of day. To me, that’s a different level of commitment.”