With an enforcement blitz by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement anticipated in the coming days, more people could be in immigration custody are in need of legal help.

Now, they could possibly get that help from the Cook County Public Defender's office.

The Public Defender's office is known for representing people accused of crimes in Cook County. But after a pilot program that started in 2020, public defenders are now being used to represent people with Cook County addresses who are being detained for immigration cases.

In July 2025, a man was detained inside the Cook County courthouse in Maywood. A Cook County public defender recorded the encounter, asking the ICE agent involved, who was wearing plain clothes, to show a warrant and his badge before putting the man in handcuffs. The agent did neither.

On Sept. 3, CBS News Chicago reported a woman appearing in Cook County Domestic Violence court on a misdemeanor domestic battery charge was taken into ICE custody by another agent wearing regular clothes, according to witnesses.

As the State of Illinois, the City of Chicago and Cook County anticipate a surge of ICE agents and arrests in the coming days, the county Public Defender's office is anticipating a heavier workload.

In 2020, the office's Immigration Division started. Hena Mansori supervises attorneys in that division, which saw its mission expand in 2022.

"There was consensus with the Cook County Board to fund the division, and then after that, in order to be able to represent people in immigration courts, there was an amendment to the Public Defender Act," she said.

Over the years, the workload has increased. As of the date of this article, there are 76 open cases — with 48 of those new since the beginning of 2025.

Public defenders are currently representing 28 people, all Cook County residents who, are being held in custody outside Illinois. Currently, they are detained in seven states — Wisconsin, Indiana, Kentucky, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Louisiana.

The detainer hearings are all held over Zoom.

"The county has made a commitment to providing funding for our Immigration Division so that we can try to defend our county residents against deportation," Mansori said.

The biggest cost is the salary of the attorneys who work in the division.

Some of the people they represent do have pending criminal cases in Cook County, but not all do. Mansori said they are "people without any criminal history whatsoever; people who are single parents trying to support their children, domestic violence survivors."

To help with the increase in cases during the Trump administration, the office is in the process of hiring two new attorneys.

The Public Defender's office works with advocacy organizations to help immigrants in need of legal help and advice.

"We are part of a collaboration here in Illinois with several area nonprofits called the Midwest Immigrant Defenders Alliance, MIDA," Mansori said.

Mansori is urging anyone who is detained and needs legal representation, anyone who needs general immigration advice, or anyone who sees an ICE presence to contact the Family Support Network at 855-435-7693.