A woman was detained by federal immigration agents Wednesday while arriving at Cook County’s domestic violence courthouse, raising concerns among that President Donald Trump’s plan to ramp up enforcement in Chicago has taken hold.
Lauren Hanna, an advocate at the courthouse, said she saw four plainclothes agents take the woman into custody around 8:45 a.m. One of the agents told Hanna that they wanted to talk to the woman “about her immigration status.”
The woman was a defendant in a case that was scheduled to be heard 15 minutes later. Her domestic violence charges were dismissed during the hearing, and the presiding judge wrote in a court document that the woman was in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“She had a case here, just trying to come to court,” Hanna said. “That’s the chilling part.”
The woman was the second person detained by immigration officials this week at the courthouse at 555 W. Harrison St., according to Tessa Kuipers, of Family Rescue, who said another person was taken into custody Tuesday. Kuipers said ICE agents hadn’t been spotted at the courthouse previously.
ICE didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The Trump administration is sending hundreds of federal agents from Los Angeles to a suburban naval base, according to sources with knowledge of the operation. Naval Station Great Lakes, the Navy’s largest training station and the largest military installation in the state, could also be used to accommodate national guard troops.
The plan to target Chicago with a flood of federal resources comes after Trump federalized the police department in Washington, D.C., and deployed the National Guard there to address crime.
Trump previously ordered an immigration blitz in Los Angeles this summer and called in the National Guard in response to protests that at times grew violent.
Gov. JB Pritzker told reporters Tuesday that Trump’s administration may have already begun staging the Texas National Guard for deployment here. Pritzker also said ICE had informed his office that the agency planned to step up enforcement in Chicago this week.
At the courthouse, Kuipers and fellow advocates passed out “know your rights” flyers and warned those entering the building of the law enforcement presence. An advocate for immigrants said at least one person turned around and left.
Kuipers said just the threat of immigration enforcement has kept some people away from the courthouse over the last year. She said she worries survivors of domestic violence will now become even more fearful.
“They’re going to have hesitancy about seeking protections, about connecting with their advocate, and of course, criminal charges that might be a tool for safety for them,” Kuipers said. “It’s silencing people, and it’s keeping them in dangerous relationships, and it’s making them [consider] what is less dangerous: staying in an abusive relationship or potential deportation.”
The Network: Advocating Against Domestic Violence has encouraged survivors to file for orders of protection online and contact the Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline for legal help.
“This decision to conduct ICE raids at a courthouse — filled with vulnerable domestic violence survivors and their families seeking justice and safety from the legal system — is deplorable,” The Network wrote in a statement. “These raids aren’t creating safety — this is fearmongering and traumatic for survivors of domestic violence and their families.”
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