Elgin may look to U.S. to help quell violence

Elgin may join the growing list of towns partnering with federal agents to arrest and deport illegal immigrants who commit violent crimes.

City leaders plan to decide by early next year whether to seek federal assistance through the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's ACCESS program.

The city already has partnered with ICE to deport some 800 criminals who were living in the country illegally.

But the ACCESS program would provide the city with additional resources to target gang members, drug dealers and others who commit violent crimes, officials say.

"We see the program as another tool in our effort to fight gang crime," Mayor Ed Schock said. "This is not an anti-immigration effort. If we can get help fighting gangs, we'll take it."

City officials stress that cooperation with ICE does not mean the city is seeking Section 287(g) training, the controversial federal program that trains local police officers to identify, process and detain immigration offenders they encounter during regular law enforcement activity.

Carpentersville, Waukegan and the Lake County sheriff's office have all applied for training under 287(g).

"There are a number of different programs by which ICE could assist local law enforcement in addition to 287(g)," ICE spokeswoman Gail Montenegro said. "ACCESS is sort of an umbrella program. We meet with interested agencies to assess local needs."

In Elgin, city officials say, they are interested in the ACCESS program Operation Community Shield, which targets violent gangs.

That's the same program that netted 58 suburban immigrants with gang ties in August and another 21 last week in communities such as Carpentersville, Mundelein, Gurnee, Lake Villa and Round Lake Beach.

In Elgin, gang violence took center stage over the summer when two people were killed and seven injured in seven gang-related shootings.

In response, local police stepped up patrols, neighbors staged a peace walk and city leaders met with concerned residents.

The city council has since established a committee with community leaders to look at gang prevention and intervention programs.

Adding federal assistance to the mix wouldn't hurt, Schock said.

"We all want the serious crime to go down," he said. "After the first of the year, when there's complete agreement on the council and the staff, we'll be making an announcement whether we're going to do ACCESS."

City officials also expect to resume their E-Verify program -- which allows employers to check whether a worker is authorized to work in the country -- now that state officials have said they won't immediately enforce a law making it illegal to enroll in the system.

And the city may also begin running checks on anyone jailed in Elgin to see whether they are here illegally.

Dave White, co-sponsor of the Elgin-based Association for Legal Americans, said he's pleased to see city officials taking some sort of action on illegal immigration.

But the city still isn't going far enough, White said.

"It's really kind of a watered-down version of 287(g)," he said. "If the federal government has a program, you should take that program to the max."

The Association for Legal Americans mailed more than 1,000 letters this fall -- and hand-delivered hundreds more -- asking residents whether they would support specific policies targeting illegal immigration.

The policy proposals included making English the official language of Elgin, and preventing businesses that hire illegal immigrants from receiving city contracts.

Some council members have shown interest in the collected data, and some have not, White said.

"Why wouldn't the mayor and the council members be interested in seeing what a major part of the voting residents think?" he said. "Why wouldn't they want to read what people said about this whole situation? These guys don't have any idea what the community thinks about illegal immigration."