Cook County courthouses set new rules for ICE
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Cook County Circuit Court is housed at the Daley Center (R). Photo: Carrie Shepherd/Axios
Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans issued an administrative order last week aimed at keeping federal law enforcement out of county courts after several incidents of immigrants being detained.
Why it matters: Public defenders and immigrant advocates say the order is needed to protect residents who fear U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Border Patrol officers might detain them at the courthouse — a fear that's kept some people from showing up, even for domestic violence or family court hearings.
Reality check: Being in the U.S. without authorization or overstaying a visa are civil offenses, not criminal ones.
- The petition for the order argues that ICE's courthouse arrests violate the "well-established common law privilege against civil arrests in and around courthouses."
Flashback: After federal officers arrested an immigrant at a Maywood courthouse in July, 8th District Commissioner Jessica Vásquez and another commissioner pushed Evans to issue guidelines.
- In a video of the Maywood incident shared by the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, someone can be heard asking for a warrant and badges from the officers.
Context: Maywood was not the only case in recent months that federal officers have threatened immigrants in or near county courthouses.
- The petition for the order lists several others, including one in which advocates say a woman was forced to choose between reporting domestic violence and facing ICE.
Fine print: The Cook County Sheriff's Office will post signs that include the order's language and will notify any individual conducting immigration enforcement of the order, CCSO spokesperson Matt Walberg told Axios.
- "Deputies will observe, document and report any immigration enforcement activities to the presiding judge of the courthouse at which the activities occurred and await further direction from the court," Walberg added.
What they're saying: "A legal strategy is something that we should all be looking into, because one of the things I keep telling folks is we cannot get stuck in this political moment, we cannot give way to hopelessness. We have to use every tool possible," Vásquez told Axios.
- "I think ultimately what we're working towards is long-term safekeeping of our systems and of our safe spaces."