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Lake, Will ban federal agents from using county-owned property
As the Department of Homeland Security continues to defend its tactics in court, Lake and Will counties are now banning federal agents from using their properties.
CHICAGO - Federal immigration agents will no longer be able to use county-owned property in Lake and Will for their operations.
What we know:
Last week, the Lake County Board voted to prohibit federal agents from using local government-owned spaces such as parking lots and garages for staging or processing individuals during "civil immigration enforcement." The order would not apply to criminal immigration enforcement, where federal authorities have a signed warrant from a judge.
As for Will County, Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant issued an executive order that blocks ICE from doing the same.
The decision to ban ICE aligns with similar actions in other parts of the Chicago area.
North Chicago and Carpentersville are expected to pass similar measures soon, joining Chicago, Cook County, Evanston and Broadview in limiting ICE’s access.
In Lake County, signs stating the ban are being installed at 28 locations.
The backstory:
The moves come amid an increase in federal immigration enforcement efforts across the Chicago area under President Donald Trump’s administration.
Broadview’s ICE facility has become a focus of recent protests, some of which have grown tense over the past month.
Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security continues to defend its immigration enforcement tactics in court. A judge recently blocked the Trump administration from deploying the National Guard to the Chicago area to assist federal agents in the immigration crackdown.
Separately, another judge ordered federal immigration agents to wear body cameras due to protests involving agents using aggressive tactics for crowd control.
The Source: The information in this story came from Lake and Will County officials and previous FOX 32 reporting.