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Residents press Prospect Heights to block ICE staging and strengthen Trust Act protections; mayor disputes some accounts
Summary
Multiple residents told the council they fear immigration enforcement and urged an ordinance to prohibit ICE staging on municipal property and stronger language access; one speaker said she was detained by ICE and accused local officers of encouraging the action, a claim the mayor disputed after reviewing video.
A series of eight public commenters at the Jan. 26 Prospect Heights council meeting urged elected officials to take concrete steps to protect residents from immigration‑enforcement activity, expand language access and rebuild trust between the community and the police department.
"I urge this council to adopt an enforceable ordinance prohibiting ICE from staging parking or operating on municipal property," said Allison Galvin, who identified herself as a case manager at Wheeling Township, citing research on the harms of enforcement activity for immigrant families and asking the council to adopt enforceable, not merely symbolic, protections.
Several speakers described community relief and organizing efforts; Veronica Roman, who identified herself as founder of the group Wheeling Strong, described relief distributions and ongoing community work. Other residents urged better transparency and resource accessibility for residents who speak languages other than English.
A speaker who identified herself as Eileen said she was taken by ICE on Dec. 22 and alleged police encouraged the agents and threatened to tase her during the detention. "I was taken by ICE on December 22nd and Prospect Heights of course did not help. They encouraged ICE to take me," she said. That allegation prompted vocal responses from other attendees and applause for public commenters.
Mayor responded directly to the public comments, saying he had reviewed video of the December incident and that what he saw "was not what I saw" in the public descriptions. He reiterated that the city is constrained by the Illinois Trust Act and stated, "We don't work with ICE." The mayor invited the person who described a separate January incident to speak with him after the meeting and noted there will be additional meetings on the topic the following day.
Speakers asked the council to translate available resources and to add local organizations such as Hana Center and North Suburban Legal Aid to the city's resource links. No ordinance or formal vote on immigration policy occurred at the meeting; several speakers asked the council to bring an ordinance forward for consideration.
The council did not take formal action on the public commenters' policy requests during the Jan. 26 meeting; staff and council signaled they will continue discussions at follow‑up sessions.
