As the Trump administration and its federal agents target Chicago, our governor, mayor and Cook County Board president have taken a strong, united stand in rejecting this dangerous overreach. We are grateful for their leadership in publicly denouncing these actions. However, many of our residents remain frightened.
Families are asking: Am I safe in a government building? Can I attend a scheduled appointment without endangering myself or my loved ones? Is the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operating in my neighborhood? These are not abstract questions. They are daily realities for many communities who feel under siege.
While Cook County’s 2011 ICE Detainer Ordinance bars law enforcement from working with ICE, advocates warn that we must do more.
To that end, we recently introduced a resolution condemning ICE’s deceptive tactics and calling on all county offices, bureaus, and agencies to notify us and our fellow commissioners of any interactions with immigration officials. For a family, knowing whether ICE is at Cook County Hospital can mean the difference between going to a doctor for treatment and risk being detained or opting to use telehealth to ensure their loved ones are safe and without fear.
Knowledge has always been our strongest defense. Efforts to educate immigrants and our neighbors on their rights are what led Tom Homan, President Donald Trump’s “border czar,” to characterize their deportation strategy in Chicago as “very difficult.” Informational campaigns have also fueled the growth of rapid response networks — volunteer-led groups of neighbors watching for ICE and protecting one another. These grassroots networks have been remarkably effective at keeping our neighbors safe, but local governments have to remain vigilant.
On July 24, ICE detained an immigrant leaving a court-mandated hearing at the Maywood Courthouse, an incident many of us on the county board learned about only after a video surfaced while we were in session. Serious questions remain: Why was there no official communication and was a warrant issued? What enabled this arrest? And how did ICE know the individual’s exact whereabouts?
Disturbingly, this was not an isolated case. On Sept. 3, a woman was detained by ICE outside the Cook County’s domestic violence courthouse. At the same courthouse on Monday, roughly a half dozen federal agents were spotted outside while two people were arrested by agents outside another West Side county courthouse.
The presence of immigration officials in and around courthouses not only undermines due process but directly contradicts our efforts to ensure safety and justice for our residents.
Stalking immigrants at courthouses is just one example of the increasingly callous tactics employed by ICE. Across the Southwest Side and suburbs, public spaces, including schools, bus stops and street corners are often met with aggressive agents in unmarked vehicles who refuse to identify themselves. Agents have also been joined by far-right influencers to sensationalize the dehumanization of our communities, setting a dangerous precedent that immigrant communities are to be degraded and persecuted.
Cook County must ensure its policies keep communities safe, whether in our courthouses, hospitals and clinics or forest preserves.
Now is the time for our county government to come together, not just to tell our constituents that we are fighting for them, but to prove it through action. That means ensuring timely and accurate information. Knowledge is protection, and our residents deserve to be informed and feel secure.
Our resolution denouncing callous and deceptive ICE tactics and requesting county offices to notify commissioners of immigration enforcement activity at our facilities is a step in the right direction as it strengthens safeguards for our immigrant community.
Jessica Vásquez is the Cook County commissioner of the 8th District, serving the Northwest Side.
Alma E. Anaya is the Cook County commissioner of the 7th District, serving the Southwest Side.