Following requests from residents to address the federal immigration crackdown happening in Chicago and its suburbs in recent months, St. Charles Mayor Clint Hull and the City Council responded with a proclamation at its meeting on Tuesday.
The proclamation comes months into President Donald Trump’s administration’s immigration crackdown in Chicago, dubbed Operation Midway Blitz. Thousands were detained across Chicago and its suburbs — most of whom had no known criminal record — and fear and uncertainty have permeated work, school, Halloween celebrations and more.
And, as the region weathered the crackdown, a number of local municipalities — like nearby Batavia and Aurora — have responded to residents’ concerns with measures intended to bar federal immigration enforcement actions from happening on city property.
Residents in St. Charles, too, have been coming to council meetings in recent months asking for some kind of local response or ordinance. But, until Tuesday, St. Charles had not formally addressed these concerns.
At Tuesday’s meeting, St. Charles Police Chief Dan Likens addressed some of the limitations on what local law enforcement can do when it comes to federal immigration enforcement.
He said that the state’s Trust Act — which generally prohibits state and local law enforcement from getting involved in deportation efforts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or other federal policing agencies dealing with immigration matters — provides “clear guidance” on how local law enforcement is to act in interactions with federal agencies when it comes to immigration enforcement.
Likens noted that the law is meant to “ensure that the local police departments remain focused on their core responsibilities.”
Local police do not engage in civil immigration enforcement and do not detain individuals over immigration matters unless required by a valid judicial warrant or court order, he emphasized.
And the Trust Act “does not prohibit cooperation with federal law enforcement in serious criminal matters, when such cooperation is required by law and supported by proper judicial authority,” Likens said. But the responsibility for civil immigration enforcement is not local law enforcement’s, he said.
Likens emphasized that the state law is meant to establish trust with the community. He said he’s met with local residents about this issue, and said that anyone who needs help can rely on the police.
“Effective policing depends on trust between the police and our community,” Likens said. “When individuals fear that contacting local police could lead to immigration consequences, crimes go unreported, victims do not seek help, witnesses are less willing to come forward and cooperate. And that makes our community less safe for everybody.”
At Tuesday’s meeting, Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser described some of the difficulties with local measures that restrict what federal agents can and cannot do. She explained that the idea behind the Trust Act was to clarify the different roles of state and federal agents when it comes to immigration matters. State law cannot dictate federal agents’ behavior, and federal agents cannot control what state agents do, she said.
Pointing to the recent state law banning civil immigration enforcement near courthouses and issuing other guidance in response to the recent immigration crackdown, Mosser explained that the state law is only a civil remedy, not a criminal one. That means local law enforcement cannot enforce the law, rather, the person being affected has the right to sue in state court.
“It does not allow local law enforcement to intervene,” Mosser said. “It does not allow them to stop it from happening, and it certainly does not allow an arrest mechanism of a federal agent.”
Kane County passed a measure of its own back in November, stating that federal agents can’t use county property for staging. Mosser, on Tuesday, pointed out that violations of that measure are to be reported to the Kane County Board, and that the county passes this information on to the state.
“We’re limited in what we can do in response to all of this,” Mosser said.
She also noted that she is working on amending the Trust Act in order to give local law enforcement more authority to protect individuals in these types of situations, with the hopes that lawmakers will move forward with it.
As for St. Charles, Mayor Clint Hull cited the “many differences of opinions” that have come out of residents asking the city to respond to the immigration crackdown.
“We have people who believe that the city needs to pass an ordinance prohibiting our federal government from using any of our properties,” Hull said. “Others believe that the St. Charles police need to be more proactive in working side-by-side in assisting our federal government with immigration enforcement. And still others have commented that we need to focus our attention on the local issues facing St. Charles … and leave this issue to the federal government.”
On Jan. 3, a local activist group held a rally in St. Charles in support of immigrants.
Hull noted that, following the city’s Jan. 5 council meeting, council members said that, because of the importance of the issue to the community, the city “need(ed) to respond.”
But an ordinance prohibiting agents from using city-owned property is “unenforceable,” according to Hull, and would “set expectations that (the) St. Charles Police Department could not meet” and give residents “a false sense of security.”
And, defending the city’s lack of response to resident comments thus far, Hull noted that public comment at city meetings is “not a debate,” and that the intention is for the city to listen to the comments that are made.
So, on Tuesday, Hull presented a proclamation, rather than an ordinance, on behalf of himself and the council — with “words that all of (them) could agree upon.”
The proclamation’s text “reaffirms (the city’s) commitment to ensuring respect, dignity and safety for all residents” and reiterated the city’s compliance with the state Trust Act and all state and federal laws related to immigration, noting that the city does not engage in civil immigration enforcement. It also describes how the police department “is committed to community-oriented policing, cultivating trust and guaranteeing that all residents feel secure in the dedication and integrity of law enforcement.”
Hull said the city knows that there are residents fearful of immigration agents — who are unwilling to go shop for food for fear of being detained, for example, or who are afraid to attend school out of concern that their parents will be detained while they are away.
“Of course we care,” Hull said. “And it’s heartbreaking to watch and read what is occurring. It’s heartbreaking to listen and hear about St. Charles families that are living in fear.”
In addition to the proclamation, Hull said that the city is offering resources for the community on its website. He also encouraged individuals to meet with the city, and said the police will continue to prioritize building relationships with St. Charles students and their families.
“When someone is hurting in St. Charles, we’re all hurting,” he said.
mmorrow@chicagotribune.com
