Chicago area officials accuse ICE of violating Illinois law barring immigration arrests at courthouses
Chicago area leaders on Thursday accused U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement of carrying out arrests at the Cook County Domestic Violence Courthouse in defiance of an Illinois law prohibiting such activity.
The Cook County Public Defender's office said ICE agents showed up at the courthouse on Thursday, and also arrested a woman at the courthouse on March 13.
In October, Gov. JB Pritzker signed an Illinois law banning immigration agents from executing civil warrants at courthouses. Cook County's chief judge also has issued an order with the same prohibition.
"Our state made a democratic choice to protect people's access to the courts. We said that survivors, witnesses, families, and community members should be able to walk into a courthouse without fear that doing the right thing would put a target on their backs. Yet the Trump administration, fully aware of Illinois' law, has shown up at Domestic Violence Court again and again," said Illinois state Sen. Graciela Guzmán (D-Chicago)
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said she is working with the Cook County Sheriff's Office to determine what can be done to hold ICE agents accountable.
ICE did not respond to a request for comment.