Chicago County judge bars ICE from arresting people in court

CHICAGO (AP) — Cook County’s top judge has signed an order barring ICE from arresting people in court. Cook County includes Chicago, which has seen a federal crackdown on immigration in recent months.

Detaining residents outside courthouses is a common tactic by federal agents, who have been stationed outside county courthouses for weeks, making arrests and drawing crowds of protesters.

The order, which was signed Tuesday evening and took effect Wednesday, prohibits the civil arrest of any “party, witness or potential witness” during court proceedings. This includes arrests inside courthouses and in parking lots, as well as on surrounding sidewalks and driveways.

“The fair administration of justice requires that the courts remain open and accessible, and that litigants and witnesses be able to appear without fear of civil arrest,” the order states.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has defended the practice of making arrests in courthouses, calling it “common sense.”

“We are not a medieval kingdom; there are no legal sanctuaries where you can hide and avoid the consequences of breaking the law,” DHS said in a statement released Wednesday. “Nothing in the Constitution prohibits arresting an offender where he is. »

Immigration advocates denounce immigration enforcement outside courthouses

Local immigration and legal advocates, including the county public defender’s office, have called for such an order, saying clients are avoiding court for fear of arrest. The office has confirmed at least a dozen immigration arrests in or near county courthouses since late July, when officials said they saw an increase in the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement outside courthouses.

“I’ve had many conversations with clients who are faced with a difficult decision: either show up in court and receive an arrest warrant, or show up in court and risk being arrested by ICE,” Cruz Rodriguez, assistant public defender in the office’s immigration division, said at a news conference earlier this month.

Domestic violence advocacy organizations also signed a petition earlier this month calling on Cook County Circuit Chief Judge Timothy Evans to issue the order. This comes after advocates said a woman was arrested by ICE last month as she entered the courthouse on domestic violence charges.

Alexa Van Brunt, director of the MacArthur Justice Center’s Illinois office, which filed the motion, said she was “pleased” with Evans’ order.

“This is a necessary and long overdue action to ensure Cook County residents can access the courts without fear,” she said in a statement to The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Evans said justice “depends on the ability of each individual to appear in court without fear or obstruction.”

“Our courthouses remain places where all people, regardless of their backgrounds or circumstances, should be able to safely and confidently participate in the legal process,” Evans said in a statement.

ICE tactics outside courthouses seen across the country

The tactic of detaining people at Chicago-area courthouses is part of a larger increase in immigration-related arrests at courthouses across the country. The increase in immigration enforcement in courthouses has been condemned by judicial authorities and legal organizations, and has led to lawsuits in some states and the passage of bills to block the practice.

In June, President Donald Trump’s administration sued New York state over a 2020 law prohibiting federal immigration agents from making arrests in state, city and other municipal courthouses.

State Democrats pledge to pass resolutions condemning federal immigration crackdown

Opening the second day of the six-day fall legislative session in Springfield, Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch denounced the federal government’s immigration rollback and pledged that his Democratic majority would use its floor time Wednesday to pass resolutions condemning the action.

“We will not stand idly by and let our democracy be taken away from us,” Welch said at the Capitol, surrounded by two dozen members of his caucus.

Asked about the practical impact of the resolutions, Welch said there was also discussion of legislation to restrict federal agent patrols throughout the state. He blasted reports of ICE arrests at medical facilities and applauded Evans’ decision banning warrantless arrests near courthouses.

“If we can do something similar statewide, I would love to see it done,” Welch said. “These spaces should be safe.”

Republicans have questioned the sincerity of their opponents. Debating a resolution condemning political violence, Republican Rep. Adam Niemerg noted Gov. JB Pritzker’s inflammatory language — in the spring, he called for “street fighters” to oppose the administration — although the governor did not espouse violence. Rep. Nicole La Ha, who said she had received death threats, accused Democrats of trying to stifle opposition.

“This is not a stance against violence,” La Ha said. “This is a distasteful tactic to punish dissent and differences of opinion. »

Illinois governor denounces use of tear gas against protesters

Meanwhile, Pritzker suggested that federal agents may have violated a federal judge’s ruling last week that they could not use tear gas, pepper spray and other weapons on journalists and peaceful protesters after a coalition of media outlets and protesters sued over the actions of federal agents during demonstrations outside a Chicago-area ICE facility. Pritzker said he expected the attorneys involved “to go back to court to make sure this is enforced against ICE.”

“ICE is causing this chaos,” he said. “They are the ones throwing tear gas when people are protesting peacefully.”

The comments also come after Pritzker denounced Border Patrol agents for using tear gas against protesters gathered Tuesday after a high-speed chase down a residential street on Chicago’s South Side.

Some protesters also gathered Wednesday afternoon outside an ICE facility in the western Chicago suburb of Broadview, where a fence that was the center of a recent lawsuit had collapsed.

A judge ordered ICE to remove the fence after the Village of Broadview sued federal authorities for “unlawfully” erecting an 8-foot-tall fence outside the facility, blocking public streets and creating problems for local emergency responders trying to access the area. On Monday, state lawmakers and Black mayors from nearby suburbs gathered outside the facility to demand the fence’s removal and announce an executive order limiting protests in the area to designated areas. Trump has long targeted Black mayors of big Democratic cities, many of whom have expressed solidarity in recent months amid federal interventions in their areas.

Community efforts to oppose ICE have also intensified in the nation’s third-largest city, where neighborhood groups have gathered to monitor ICE activities and film any incidents involving federal agents in their areas.

On Tuesday, hundreds of people attended “Whistlemania” events across the city and made thousands of “whistle kits” including whistles, “Know Your Rights” flyers and instructions on how to use them to alert neighbors to the presence of immigration agents.

A growing number of GoFundMe pages have also been launched to pay legal fees for community members detained by ICE, most recently a landscaper and father of three arrested earlier this month.

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AP reporter John O’Connor in Springfield contributed.