Copyright Chicago Tribune
Waukegan city property will not be a location used for federal immigration enforcement operations of any kind as President Donald Trump’s administration continues its enhanced Midway Blitz deportation efforts in the Chicago area. The Waukegan City Council unanimously approved a resolution without debate prohibiting the use of city property for federal civil immigration enforcement at a special meeting on Monday at City Hall. “This resolution is not about politics,” Mayor Sam Cunningham said after signing the resolution. “It is about people. It is about ensuring that every person who calls Waukegan home can go to City Hall, the police station, the library and any other municipal facility without fear.” Along with prohibiting federal immigration enforcement agents from using city property “as a staging area, processing location, operations base or other support for civil immigration enforcement,” the resolution dictates that signs be placed in all appropriate places to warn agents. Besides signs, physical barriers like locked gates and fences will be used to keep agents away, according to the resolution. City property leased to others is not included. It is not designed to interfere with the enforcement of criminal law or limit a person under state or federal law, city officials said. Cunningham reiterated a phrase he has often used to describe the city and its people: “Waukegan’s greatest strength is its diverse people. We are proud of who we are.” The apprehension of immigrants in Lake County began to intensify in early September when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security began Operation Midway Blitz, accelerating enforcement in the Chicago area, including 48 apprehensions in the county in the last three weeks. “We have listened,” Cunningham said. “We have heard the concerns, the confusion, and the fear that too many of our families have felt, and we have worked with compassion to minimize that fear, to provide clarity about where we stand, and to keep every resident safe.” Just as the council approved the resolution without any disagreement or modification, the only difference among the people in the crowd was the level of passion. A standing-room-only crowd of more than 150 people held signs and applauded speakers like Jim Domiano, who spoke before the vote. Domiano said he wants strong action from the city should federal immigration enforcement agents come to Waukegan to take his neighbors. He said he is willing to put himself between the agents and their targets. “I’m ready … to go toe-to-toe to protect those, as a white man can stand in the way and say no,” Domiano said. “Take me instead of some mom whose only crime is her skin is darker than mine. We should act as compassionate human beings in the face of adversity.” Dulce Ortiz, the executive director of Mano a Mano Family Resource Center and a Waukegan Township trustee, said she has lived in the city for more than 25 years. In her work, she is in the middle of the effort to protect immigrants from deportation. She said she is pleased with the resolution. “I don’t think we’ve lived in these moments in history,” Ortiz said before the vote. “Many immigrants come to this country to seek safe haven from their own countries, and what this current administration is doing is deplorable. This is a good step forward.” Ortiz issued her own call to action, both to city officials and the rest of the crowd. She said the current national situation, with increased efforts by the Trump administration to deport immigrants, requires something from everyone. “Think about the legacy you are going to leave for your children,” she said. “What are you going to say you did in these moments when immigrants are being persecuted and they’ve provided so much to this country?” One woman in the crowd said nothing at all. She stood behind one of the members of the public speaking with a sign quoting the Bible: “When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. Love them as yourself for you were foreigners in the Land of Egypt.” Waukegan’s resolution is similar to an executive order issued by North Chicago Mayor Leon Rockingham Jr. on Oct. 20.
