Chicago is pausing online applications for its municipal ID program, known as CityKey, after receiving a subpoena for records from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"This was a tough decision as this program serves a number of vulnerable populations that rely on the accessibility of CityKey, and ultimately, that's also the reason I'm pausing our online platform," City Clerk Anna Valencia said in a statement. "Making decisions that protect people is vital during a time where the federal government is terrorizing its own people, and I'm going to keep speaking out and standing up for all Chicagoans."

The  helps people who are undocumented or unhoused who might have problems getting or maintaining an ID card.

People by making an appointment online. The clerk's office said applications and documents used to validate and print CityKey IDs are returned to the applicant, meaning no online records are maintained of applications.

In addition to serving as a government ID card, CityKey also works as a Ventra card, library card, and prescription discount card.

The Chicago Tribune for personal information of CityKey applicants.

Mayor Brandon Johnson's administration has vowed to fight the subpoena, and on Wednesday the mayor condemned the Trump administration's attempt to access applicants' records.

"It's bad," the mayor said on Wednesday. "It's wrong."

Chicago Corporation Counsel Mary Richardson-Lowry said the city refused to comply with the ICE subpoena.

"We respectfully declined within the bounds of the law, given the privacy issues, and specifically the exposure of groups like domestic violence victims, which would have been exposed had that information been provided," she said.

Richardson-Lowry said, should ICE take the matter to court, "we will respond in kind."

The City Council authorized the CityKey program in 2017, but it wasn't until December 2024 – after President Trump was elected to a second term – that the city began taking online applications for the ID. State law requires the city to retain records submitted online, so unlike with in-person applications, the city must keep records of online applications for the ID.

Valencia told CBS News Chicago she wants the public to know the CityKey program is safe.

"If you come to our in-person events, know that you can get the CityKey card, and we're not keeping any of your records, and you can make an appointment on our website so that we can continue to get the CityKey out to all Chicago residents. And that's really the thing is that we do not want to be intimidated or bullied," she said.

Dave Savini contributed to this report.