At their November 3rd Board Meeting, the Arlington Heights Village Board of Trustees discussed potential local legislative action as a result of federal civil immigration enforcement activity by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) and US Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP), in the Arlington Heights community. The Village’s legal team and staff are evaluating potential options for discussions the November 17th Village Board Meeting. In the meantime, the Village has issued an interim policy regarding its response to federal civil immigration enforcement activity in Arlington Heights, as outlined below.
For residents interested in learning more, the Village of Arlington Heights announced that the Arlington Heights Library is hosting a Know Your Rights virtual event on November 18th. Community partners Hanul Family Services and the North Suburban Legal Aid Clinic will provide information about legal rights for immigrants and how to connect with trusted local resources. Participation is anonymous; open to all community members.
Presented in English with Spanish subtitles available. For assistance in another language, to submit a question before the program or for additional support and legal resources, contact:
Hanul Family Services – Elaine Han, [email protected]
North Suburban Legal Aid Clinic – Ken Willer, [email protected]More information can be found on the Arlington Heights Memorial Library Website at https://www.ahml.info/scheduling/reservation/200895.
Restrictions on Law Enforcement:
Municipalities in Illinois are subject to the Illinois TRUST Act and the Way Forward Act, which apply to law enforcement officers. Under the Act, “a law enforcement agency or official may not participate, support, or assist in any capacity with an immigration agent’s enforcement operations.” The TRUST Act delineates specific law enforcement prohibitions, including but not limited to:
Sharing information with federal immigration agents,
Stopping, arresting, searching, or detaining a person solely based on an individual’s citizenship or immigration status,
Complying with immigration detainers,
Inquiring about or investigating the citizenship or immigration status or place of birth of any individual in the agency or official’s custody or who has been otherwise stopped or detained by the agency or official,
Transferring individuals into immigration custody without a criminal warrant,
Allowing immigration agents access to state and local facilities for investigative or enforcement purposes,
Entering into immigration enforcement agreements with immigration authorities.
Arlington Heights Police Department personnel have been trained and are provided continual updates on their obligations under these two acts.
Interim Guidelines for Non-Law Enforcement Village Personnel:
Federal immigration enforcement officers from ICE, CBP, or any other federal agency cannot be prevented from operating in any space that is open to the public at large. This includes streets, sidewalks, parking lots to which the general public has access, and the public portions of Village facilities (such as lobbies, etc.). They have the authority and ability to operate in such spaces.
Village employees should not grant access to Federal immigration enforcement officers to private areas of our Village buildings unless they present a warrant. These areas include any part of Village buildings that are not accessible to the general public without being invited in by a Village employee. These include private offices, corridors, and parking lots that are intended for Village Staff and vehicles only (i.e. parking lots at Fire Stations, behind the Police Station, behind the gate at Public Works, etc.). It can be argued that allowing Federal immigration enforcement officers access to these areas is in violation of the TRUST Act.
Village employees should not provide information to any Federal immigration enforcement officer that would not be offered to a member of the general public. If a federal officer actively investigating a civil immigration violation asks about information on residents or a residence or an employee, they should be directed to file a FOIA request. This includes the presence or non-presence of a particular person who is within the non-public areas of Village Hall. Again, Village employees should not share such information with a federal immigration enforcement officer, if they do not have a warrant. If they present a warrant, you should contact your department director to review it and so that the information can be appropriately shared.
If Federal immigration enforcement officers are found to be using a non-public parking lot or other non-public portion of Village property, the ranking employee in that building should approach the federal officers and inform them that they are not allowed to operate in that area as it is for Village personnel and/or vehicles only. If they refuse to leave, the ranking official should call 911 and request an Arlington Heights Police Officer respond to document the unauthorized use of the property. At this time, local law enforcement has no authority to remove or cite a federal officer, but they can document it for future potential actions. If federal officers are on Village property, actively engaged in the arrest of a person, do not approach, as it may be perceived as impeding a federal officer – call 911.
While Village employees should not actively assist federal immigration enforcement officers, they also should not interfere with their investigations. Interfering with a federal investigation may carry criminal penalties, under 18 U.S.C.§ 111.
Village employees may engage in their normal job duties near and involving an ICE or CBP incident. This includes responding to medical or other emergencies that occur during or as the result of federal immigration enforcement incident. Therefore, if an ICE officer or detainee is injured or undergoing a medical emergency, normal life-safety protocols apply. Similarly, Public Works and other employees may go about their normal responsibilities in the vicinity of such incidents, as safety permits.
NOTE: The library event was switch from onsite to virtual due to security concerns
