Copyright Chicago Tribune
One day after federal immigration agents went inside the Elgin Mall of East Dundee and took a person into custody, a security guard was on duty Monday to let customers enter and a sign placed on the front door that read: “ICE/CBP agents do not have consent to enter this business/restaurant unless they have a valid judicial warrant. Staff are not authorized to consent access to this business/restaurant.” Elgin Area Rapid Response Team members confirmed that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were inside the mall at 535 Dundee Ave. at 9:20 a.m. Sunday and detained a person who was reportedly an employee. The scene was cleared by 9:30 a.m. That kind of action is the reason why the Elgin Immigrant Alliance, made up of Centro de Informacion, Casa Michoacan Elgin, Elgin YWCA and Chicago Workers Collaborative, has launched a campaign to get businesses to display signs like the one now posted at the Elgin Mall. Maya Pena, executive of Casa Michoacan Elgin, said the goal is not only to keep agents out but to inform business owners of their rights. “The idea is to help people know their rights. Not to interfere with ICE actions but to know their rights to protect their workers and community,” Pena said. Packets of information are being distributed to businesses and signs available online, Pena said. The mall was not the only place targeted over the weekend. ICE agents were seen all over Elgin, Carpentersville and East Dundee area, including the Blackhawk Apartments in Elgin and Meadowdale Mall in Carpentersville, according to the Rapid Response Team. One report had ICE agents at the former Milk Pail, now called Tianguis, on Route 25 in East Dundee. A video circulating on social media shows ICE agents there and ultimately leaving after someone told the agents it was private property they were prohibited from entering. An employee who answered the phone at the business confirmed the video is real. There’s no information on whether anyone was detained. Elgin Mall of East Dundee and the Milk Pail/Tianguis were both referenced in a social media post by Elgin police officer Jason Lentz. that was directed at ICE. In it, his tongue-in-cheek message read, “If I were ICE I wouldn’t check…” and then lists the mall, the Milk Pail and a third Hispanic business. Lentz has been put on administrative leave because of the post. An independent investigation is being conducted. Federal immigration efforts have stepped up in the Chicago area since early September and the launch of Operation Midway Blitz. Some reports say 1,500 or more people have been detained in less than two months. One person detained locally was apparently detained while walking to a Meadowdale Mall store Sunday morning. His family did not know where he was until being informed a day later that he had been taken by federal agents. The families of these people are the ones for whom Elgin Immigrant Alliance is trying to provide support, Pena said. “These are difficult moments for all the families left behind,” she said. Casa Michoacan can connect people with the resources or services they need and provide referrals to other nonprofits, Pena said. They often need help with child care and food assistance, she said “There are many people who’ve had a family member taken, and they don’t know what to do,” she said. “We can help them figure out their number (which ICE assigns to detainees) to track them. We can help find their location and what the status of the case is.” A woman going into the Elgin Mall Monday afternoon wasn’t convinced the sign on the door would keep ICE out. “At the rate I’ve seen things develop, I don’t think a sign helps,” said Liz, who declined to give her last name. “I feel for us, as the Hispanic community. We’re trying to make the best of the situation if it’s possible. We’re trying to stick together. There’s not much more to be done at this point. Everything else is out of our hands.” Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
