Learning on Sept. 3 that 300 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents would work from nearby Naval Station Great Lakes on Operation Midway Blitz to begin enhanced deportation of undocumented immigrants, Waukegan Mayor Sam Cunningham acted to calm his community.
Cunningham made sure city police officers, unlike ICE agents, were completely uniformed with badges showing. Traffic enforcement was suspended, taking the worry away from drivers of a stop by law enforcement for driving a little too fast.
“The city of Waukegan wants to reassure our community that your safety and well-being remain our top priority,” the mayor said at the time. “Individuals are encouraged to stay informed, be prepared and know their rights.”
Now in the seventh week of Midway Blitz, Cunningham and the City Council are looking for ways to legally curb the actions of ICE and the U.S. Border Patrol, which is now aiding in the federal effort.
The council is scheduled to vote on a resolution prohibiting the use of city property for any immigration enforcement actions locally when it next meets at 7 p.m. on Monday in a special meeting at City Hall in hopes of reducing the fear felt by many in the community.
“We’re doing our research now,” Cunningham said after Monday’s City Council meeting. “Our goal is to have something ready for our next meeting. We have done a lot already. Our police still wear uniforms. They’re not masked like ICE.”
Whether council members will vote on a resolution similar to one approved by a 14-5 vote on Oct. 14 by the Lake County Board, or an executive order such as the one North Chicago Mayor Leon Rockingham Jr. signed Monday, is not yet known. Cunningham said Monday he leans toward a resolution.
Both the North Chicago executive order and the Lake County Board resolution ban ICE or the border patrol from using city or county property as staging areas for enforcement actions. The North Chicago order also keeps local police from detaining people based “solely” on civil immigration enforcement operations.
Three council members — Ald. Victor Felix, 4th Ward, Ald. Lynn Florian, 8th Ward, and
Ald. Thomas Hayes, 9th Ward — voiced their support for a resolution during the time allotted at the end of Monday’s meeting for them to speak on any issues. Felix said a majority of the council favors such a measure.
Florian said she is willing to support an executive order or resolution to “curb ICE activity on city property.” Though it may be hard to enforce, it has emotional benefits, where at least 36 people have been detained by federal immigration enforcement agents since Oct.10, including 17 in Waukegan or North Chicago.
“At this time, we can’t tell federal agents what to do,” Florian said. “I think it will give the right message to our community that we stand with them, and we’re trying to do something to address what’s happening.”
Hayes, an attorney, agreed that enforcement might be hard, but the impact on the community since Operation Midway Blitz began is burdensome. It has had a serious effect on many individuals, with a dip in school attendance and people afraid to leave their homes.
“It’s atrocious,” Hayes said. “Enforcement of that would be challenging, but nonetheless members of our community (are being) terrorized on a daily basis. It’s unlawful and it’s despicable, and people need to know we stand with them.”
Speaking at the North Chicago executive-order-signing, Dulce Ortiz, the executive director of Mano a Mano Family Resource Center and a Waukegan Township trustee, said people feel free to do less and less.
“They can’t go outside their homes,” Ortiz said. “It is dangerous. You can’t go to the gas station. You can’t go grocery shopping. You can’t go to work. There are a lot of families who are being broken apart by political theater.”