Batavia moves toward ban on ICE using city property

Batavia aldermen are considering a measure banning federal officers from using city-owned property when they are making arrests in civil immigration cases.

Meeting Tuesday as a committee of the whole, city council members voted to direct city staff to prepare an ordinance that will be voted on at an unspecified date.

And while some aldermen were passionate about the idea, some questioned whether the city could actually enforce a ban.

Alderman Christopher Solfa also questioned the need for an ordinance, saying it would just be a symbolic gesture. He noted that Batavia already complies with the Illinois TRUST Act, which prohibits local police and governments from aiding immigration agents in civil cases, including use of city property.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents’ actions in the area “are certainly upsetting,” Solfa said, but he considers Batavia a safe community. Instead of an ordinance, he suggested the council adopt a proclamation reinforcing the city’s commitment to the TRUST Act.

Alderman Alice Lohman disagreed. She said she is of Hispanic descent, and is constantly worried about her or her children being detained. Her brothers, who served in the military, have repeatedly been stopped by law enforcement officers because of the way that they look, she added.

“The state of our country has me hypervigilant every time I step outside,” Lohman said.

As to how the city would enforce an ordinance, City Administrator Laura Newman said similar bans adopted by other towns and nearby counties don’t articulate what enforcement looks like. If federal immigration agents set up in a parking lot at city hall, employees would report it to a supervisor, and she would tell the agents they are not allowed.

“I don’t think that there are any powers to remove people,” Newman said.

The vote came after more than an hour of public comment, most of it in favor of a ban.

Alderman Tony Malay was blunt, saying the federal government was acting “lawlessly.”

“We must stand up and push back in every way we can, before it is too late,” he said.