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Immigrant advocates urge Kankakee County to remove ICE rider from U.S. Marshals contract; county official says ICE portion is void under Illinois Trust Act
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Summary
At the Nov. 10 Kankakee County Board meeting, immigrant‑rights volunteers asked the board to correct a U.S. Marshals contract that reportedly still includes an "ICE rider." A county official responded that the ICE portion is void under the Illinois Trust Act but the rest of the contract remains in effect.
Brandon Hudspeth, a volunteer with Connect, told the Kankakee County Board on Nov. 10 that a WTTW investigation found 17 Illinois counties still list an "ICE rider" in contracts with the U.S. Marshals Service and urged the county to "fix this paperwork" so immigrant families are not left in fear.
"This was required by 01/01/2022," Hudspeth said, and he asked the board to clarify whether local contracts coordinate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, calling the paperwork correction "one of them that I think would be really easy to handle." Marsha Brown Medina, a social worker who said she has worked with immigrant families in Kankakee County for 30 years, echoed his concern and urged the board to remove the rider because it runs contrary to the Illinois Trust Act and harms families pursuing asylum.
An unnamed county official responded that while the ICE rider itself is voided by the Illinois Trust Act, severance provisions in the U.S. Marshals contracts allow other portions to remain in force. "The ICE component to it is not in full force and effect because it is voided by the Illinois Trust Act," the official said, adding that "local law enforcement is not coordinating with ICE" and that county courts and law enforcement are not assisting ICE in detaining people.
The board did not take formal action on the contracts at the meeting. Public commenters asked the board to revise contract language to remove any appearance of local ICE coordination; county officials stated existing law limits local cooperation and said the ICE portion is not operational. No specific timeline or staff directive to change contract language was recorded in the meeting minutes.
The exchange highlighted lingering public concern after the WTTW report and a difference between public perception and the county official's legal interpretation of contract severability under the Illinois Trust Act.
