How Chicago sanctuary status fends off ICE agents as Trump pushes deportations
March 3, 2017
On most mornings, the names of people arrested and headed to bond court at Chicago's main criminal courthouse are written on paper lists tacked to a bulletin board in a hallway outside the courtroom. Anxious friends and relatives run their fingers down the sheets to make sure that they're in the right place, but they aren't the only ones scanning those lists.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents go through them by hand to find the names of immigrants who are here illegally and have been swept up into the local criminal justice system, federal officials say. That places them in ICE's crosshairs and potentially on a path toward deportation.
That kind of primitive workaround is a reality for federal agents whose territory is Chicago, one of the largest cities to call itself a sanctuary and to implement policies aimed at defying federal crackdowns on illegal immigration — a movement that has gained steam as some governments in the Chicago area express their opposition to President Donald Trump's plans to increase deportations.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel and other local politicians, saying they value the contributions of immigrants, have trumpeted Chicago's status as a place that will welcome and shield those here illegally, including by not having the Chicago Police Department cooperate with ICE.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/c...303-story.html
