Can suburbs, counties enforce ICE bans on government property? Some say no

As immigration enforcement continues across the suburbs, county boards and city councils are pushing back with ordinances and resolutions that prohibit federal agents from using publicly owned property to stage operations.

Elgin this week joined other suburban communities, including Carpentersville, Batavia and Wheeling, in restricting immigration enforcement activity on its property. Lake, Will and DuPage counties have adopted their own measures.

But as signs go up warning federal agents, questions remain about the enforceability of measures aimed at keeping U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents off public property.

In DuPage County, some board members asked the state’s attorney’s office to weigh in on the enforceability of signs placed at the entrances to the county campus last week. The signs read “DuPage County Property. Immigration Enforcement Only With Judicial Warrant.”

“Just to be clear. These signs have no legal binding,” DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick, a Republican candidate for governor, posted on his social media page. “Please don’t let DuPage County theatrics create the expectation that any law enforcement agency will have any legal authority to enforce the message displayed on this sign.”

DuPage County Board Chair Deb Conroy authorized the signs after the county board approved a resolution, largely along party lines, decrying recent operations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and urging Congress to enact immigration reform. The resolution also recognizes the county’s right to declare certain county property private or for employee use only.

“These signs reflect the values of due process and equal protection,” Conroy said in a statement. “They do not change federal law. They simply make clear that any civil immigration enforcement on our campus must be supported by a judicial warrant, consistent with the rights we defend daily.”

She declined to comment on Mendrick’s post.

A spokesman for the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office said Friday that the county can declare certain areas private or limited to employee-use only. However, there are no legal consequences the county can impose for disregarding the signs.

Still, Conroy Friday said they will remain.

“The signs went up in support of our community, community members who are living in constant fear,” she said. “My intention is to keep the signs up.”

Legal and immigration experts note that resolutions, ordinances or signs prohibiting immigration agents from using municipal or county properties for staging or enforcement activity may face challenges, but the actions are a necessary first step.

“All of these communities are telling U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement how they feel about this,” Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said.

American Civil Liberties Union Spokesman Ed Yohnka likened recent resolutions and ordinances to private businesses making it clear which areas of their business were off limits to immigration agents.

“Even while we may not know how those would work out in particular if the federal officials decided to violate those kinds of resolutions, what we see is a clear call on the part of the local government that they’re not going to participate even … in allowing their parking lots to be used for gathering or recognizance,” Yonkha said.

Officials pointed to the Illinois TRUST Act, which prohibits local law enforcement from cooperating with immigration agents, and other legal cases that could bolster local cases for ordinances blocking ICE from commandeering city or county land for their operations.

Yonkha and others added that even if no immediate action is taken, documenting violations could be used as evidence in future action or at hearings of the state’s recently approved accountability commission, which will track the conduct of federal agents as “Operation Midway Blitz” continues.

“One strong benefit is starting a process that will align with the goals of the state of Illinois to hold the federal government accountable for a variety of violations, most importantly of people’s constitutional rights,” said Dianha Ortega-Ehreth, executive director of Elgin’s Centro de Information.

And while ordinances and signs restricting ICE activity on publicly owned property may face challenges, Ortega-Ehreth said they are a welcome sign of support.

“Personally, as an Elgin resident and Latina immigrant, I am thankful for the leaders of this city who are having hard but necessary conversations about these unprecedented times,” she said. “The Latino and immigrant communities here are in crisis.”