As the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement raids continue across the Chicago area, a Kane County committee is moving forward a resolution expressing support for immigrant rights.
Last week, the Kane County Board’s Legislative Committee considered the measure, which was brought forward by District 1 board member Myrna Molina.
“I think we’ve heard from our communities, and we know what the county has jurisdiction over,” Molina said at Wednesday’s committee meeting. “What we’re seeing isn’t right, and we’re asking for your support in reforming what is currently happening.”
On Sept. 8, President Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security announced that it had begun a surge of immigration law enforcement in Chicago, calling it “Operation Midway Blitz” and claiming it would target “criminal illegal aliens” who have benefited from the city and state’s sanctuary policies, according to past reporting.
The immigration crackdown unfolding since has been felt around Chicago and its suburbs, including in and around Kane County.
On Saturday, for example, two protestors were arrested in Aurora after having confronted federal immigration agents at an elementary school in the city. A few weeks prior, protestors outside Aurora City Hall decried the recent immigration enforcement in the city following federal officer sightings in the area.
Federal immigration enforcement activity has also been seen in nearby towns like Elgin, Carpentersville and Naperville.
The measure considered by the Kane County Board committee last week points to “aggressive” federal immigration enforcement activity in communities in Illinois, saying that those actions “erode public trust, discourage residents from reporting crimes or accessing services, and disproportionately target individuals based on race, ethnicity, or perceived immigration status.” It also states that “many detained are workers and community members rather than public safety threats” and that “documented cases in Illinois show that even U.S. citizens have been wrongfully detained under such operations.”
The resolution also indicates the Kane County Board’s “commitment to upholding the rights, dignity, and safety of all residents” regardless of immigration status, and states that county departments and offices will “continue to provide services in a fair, equitable, and culturally responsive manner to all residents.”
It also calls on the state and federal government to enact “humane, comprehensive immigration reforms.”
Molina explained in an email that the intention behind the resolution is “particular to the scope of” the county’s Legislative Committee, with the goal of urging lawmakers to enact reforms that “protect due process, keep families together, prevent immigration enforcement in sensitive locations such as schools, places of worship and community centers, promote transparency and accountability, and ensure that no person is detained, deported, or targeted due to their race or ethnicity.”
Molina said there are other related resolutions currently being reviewed by the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office.
At last week’s Legislative Committee meeting, District 14 board member Jon Gripe said he supported the resolution, but proposed an amendment that expresses support for law enforcement “whether they’re federal, state or local, that are doing their job the way they should.”
He said his intention was “not to water down or change this, it’s just to say, ‘Let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water. Let’s respect our officers when they do their job as they should, at any level.’”
Molina said she thinks law enforcement “is already aware that we respect them” and that “there needs to be accountability, and if they’re going against what the Constitution mandates, then they should be held accountable to that.”
District 8 board member Michelle Gumz, one of the committee’s co-chairs, said she takes the “point that we support our officers, our local law enforcement officers,” but said she thinks that “it’s completely separate from this.”
Gripe’s motion — which stated that the board “supports law enforcement officers in doing their difficult jobs in a challenging environment” and that they expect “all law enforcement entities to execute their jobs in compliance with the Constitution and all laws” — did not receive a second, and so was not added to the resolution.
A few individuals also spoke at the public comment portion of the meeting, both for and against the measure.
The resolution ultimately was passed by the committee, with Gripe voting “present” and the other board members present — Molina, Gumz, Cherryl Strathmann and Michael Linder — voting in support of it. It is now set to go on to the board’s Executive Committee, and then, if recommended by the committee, to the full board for final approval.
mmorrow@chicagotribune.com