The intensity of the federal government’s immigration enforcement efforts in Lake County is lower this summer than when 76 people were apprehended during the 70-day Midway Blitz operation last fall, but many community members remain fearful of being detained.
Dulce Ortiz, the executive director of Mano a Mano Family Services and a Waukegan Township trustee, said rapid response teams are ready to observe the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at a moment’s notice.
Two men were taken into custody by federal immigration enforcement agents in separate incidents in August, she said, one in Waukegan and the other in Round Lake, as they were engaged in routine or required activities.
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“It seems in the spring ICE was kidnapping people in targeted operations, but now they take people collaterally at nearby locations when they don’t have any issue with them,” Ortiz said.
Working with a woman trying to find her husband after he was apprehended by federal immigration enforcement agents on Aug. 17, Ortiz said she learned he was in his car at a Dunkin Donuts drive-through line in Lake Villa. He is undocumented.
“He has no criminal record and no deportation order,” she said. “The car was left in the drive-through line. It took his wife 90 minutes to get there (to get the car). He is still being held.”
Another place ICE agents gather is the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Application Support Center near the intersection of Green Bay Road and Washington Street in Waukegan. Ortiz said immigrants go there for fingerprinting and other services.
When the Mano a Mano rapid response team arrived at the USCIS office on Aug. 6, Ortiz said they observed a vehicle identified as one used by ICE agents at the back door. They entered to talk to workers there to learn what was happening.
“When they got inside, they were told ICE had left, but the vehicle was still there,” she said. They (later) learned someone was kidnapped. It was a man.”
Rapid response teams get reports of ICE in parts of Lake County and go to that location to investigate. Ortiz said they will come in four or five vehicles. They look around but do not always apprehend individuals.
“They are not here as often as they are in other places in the region,” Ortiz said. “They’re looking to send a message and terrorize people so they self-deport. There are rapid response teams around the state of Illinois to warn our neighbors.”
While arrests are down in Lake County, Ortiz said the presence of ICE agents makes community members uncomfortable. Whether people are legally in the country or undocumented, the presence of ICE agents makes them uneasy.
“Some people are still fearful,” she said. “Community members try to live a normal life, but the fear never goes away.”
Maria-Elena Jonas, a founder and the executive director of HACES in Waukegan, said people are aware of ICE’s presence in Waukegan and other parts of Lake County, and it makes them uneasy. They adjust their behavior as needed.
“They avoid going to the store and going out in daytime,” Jonas said. “They try to avoid any interaction with ICE and are being cautious.”
Jonas said HACES helps asylum seekers, but some of those they assist are reluctant to continue the process out of fear they will be taken by immigration enforcement agents despite their legal status.
The Department of Homeland Security and ICE did not respond to requests for comment.