Elgin council candidates weigh in on immigration enforcement
Elgin city leaders have been frustrated with the lack of action or direction provided by the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
The six hopefuls seeking the lone 2-year city council seat - Al Fernandez, Emi Morales, Mike Robins, Brenda Rodgers, Charlene Sligting and Mike Warren - all favor having the full council meet with ICE officials.
But ICE, the federal agency that's supposed to enforce immigration laws, has not been responsive to the city and police department.
Elgin Corporation Counsel William Cogley said the city has not received any feedback or response to requests to access federal programs first made last March.
At a recent forum, council candidates agreed that illegal immigration enforcement was a task left up to the federal government.
But, Ferandez noted, only illegal aliens convicted of the most serious crimes are deported.
"Until the federal government decides what they want to do with this, the only thing we can do is work with the parameters they set for us," he said.
From March 1 through mid-December, Elgin police have arrested 20 illegal immigrants who will be deported if they are convicted of the felony drug charges, gang activity or sex crimes of which they are accused.
Overall, the department made 1,259 inquires to the ICE database of foreign-born defendants and 253 turned out to be in the country illegally, according to the most recent figures available.
No candidates strongly said they were prepared to take the lead in forming a coalition with other towns to pressure ICE to take action.
But Sligting said she'd be willing to meet with officials from towns like Aurora and Carpentersville "to see if ICE is working collaboratively with them."
And Warren said "it does make sense to meet with other organizations up and down our neighborhood to find the best solution and find the best relationship we can with organizations that do have the power to control this issue."
Both Morales and Warren cautioned about passing new legislation that could spiral into lawsuits and cost taxpayers more in the end.
"I am not for creating ordinances that would violate others' constitutional rights," Morales said.
In the Feb. 24 primary election, voters will narrow the field from six to four.
The remaining candidates will be included on the ballot for the April 7 election, along with 10 people seeking three, 4-year council seats.
Three other forums will be held before the primary.
The forums, and their sponsoring organizations, are: 7:30 p.m. Feb. 4, American Legion Hall, 820 N. Liberty St., by the Elgin Jaycees; 7 p.m. Feb. 5, First Presbyterian Church, 240 Standish St., by the Near West Neighbors Association; and 2 p.m. Feb. 15, Gail Borden Public Library, 270 N. Grove Ave., by the League of Women Voters.