‘Great fear and uncertainty’: Lake County leaders speak out against escalating ICE operations
A day after several people were whisked away in Waukegan and elsewhere political and community leaders Tuesday vowed to stand firm against escalating U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in Lake County saying the ongoing situation affects everyone.
“The recent immigration enforcement operations taking place in Waukegan and in our region have caused great fear and uncertainty,” Waukegan Mayor Sam Cunningham said during a news conference at Veterans Memorial Plaza, just down the street from city hall.
“But I want to be clear again — in times like these, Waukegan must remain calm, united and focused on supporting one another.”
Cunningham was among several speakers who condemned what they described as out-of-control operations and highlighted resources for those who see immigration enforcement in their area, have a family member taken by ICE or otherwise need help.
The event was organized by the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
The group said ICE teams are conducting warrantless vehicle stops and using racial profiling to “abduct” community members in Lake County and across the Chicago area.
The organization said rapid response team members confirmed people being detained by federal agents in Park City, at the College of Lake County Lakeshore campus, Home Depot locations in Waukegan and Vernon Hills, and outside Waukegan city hall where a citizen was taken.
That woman, Dariana Fajardo, wasn’t a speaker but attended the event. She said she had pulled over in front of city hall and was boxed in by vehicles and taken from her car.
Fajardo said she was taken “somewhere in Lombard” and held several hours before being picked up by her parents. The experience was scary, she added, but some have gone through worse.
Dulce Ortiz, executive director of Mano a Mano Family Resource Center and president of the board of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, said activities the group cautioned about in September were coming to pass.
“We are here today with urgency and determination,” she said. “The escalation we warned about is here.”
Ortiz said accountability and clear answers were needed.
“This is political theater and this is a campaign of terror with our community as the target,” she said. “Our communities deserve safety not militarization.”
U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider said the actions orchestrated by President Donald Trump and the administration are undoing “the spirit and fabric of who we are as a people.”
“We are outraged. We are angry. But we won’t back down,” he said.
Others voiced similar sentiment.
“Silence is not an option,” said 31st District state Sen. Mary Edly-Allen. “We must be concise, clear, unwavering: ‘Not in our state. Not anymore.’”
Don Gross is a member of the Lake County rapid response team that works to de-escalate situations.
“We exist to spread power, not panic,” he said. ‘We don’t need to be terrified. We have our rights.”
Anyone with concerns is urged to call ICIRR’s family support hotline at (855) 435-7693.