Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Immigration topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Resident tells West Chicago committee ICE agents parked in police lot; staff says city does not cooperate with ICE
Summary
A resident said she observed an ICE vehicle parked in a police parking area and urged the city to bar federal immigration agents from using city-owned property; staff replied the city does not work with ICE outside criminal investigations and will meet with the commenter after the meeting.
Jennifer Scarpetz, a West Chicago resident, told the Public Affairs Committee on Aug. 20 that she saw a vehicle she identified as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents driving around the city and later parked in the police department parking lot, and she urged the city to stop allowing ICE to use municipal property.
"My name is Jennifer Scarpetz, and I'm here to talk about ICE being allowed to use our... the city parking lots, specifically by the police department," she said, adding she observed agents attempting to enter a home and later saw the vehicle parked in the lot where a sign restricts parking to city employees.
Sujeda Tejas, representing Esparza/Esparter Latino, told the committee that several people were detained by ICE the morning after the Mexican Independence Day festival and said many detentions occurred without warrants. She urged West Chicago to consider an ordinance or executive order similar to recent actions in Chicago and Will County that restrict federal immigration agents' use of city property.
City staff responded during the reports portion of the meeting. "We do not work with ICE. We're not legally allowed to work with ICE. We have not worked with ICE. We don't work with them in anything but criminal cases," the staff member said, and added that ICE has not used the private portion of the police parking lot and would not be allowed to do so except for a criminal investigation.
The staff member offered to meet with commenters after the meeting to review the concerns and any evidence. A different participant said they had photographs they would share with staff.
Next steps: city staff told speakers they would talk after the meeting to review the reported sightings and clarify city parking access policy; no formal ordinance or vote on immigration cooperation was proposed during the committee meeting.
