Oak Park leaders discussed a strategy for countering the federal immigration enforcement efforts focused on the West Cook suburbs and Chicagoland as a whole.
Oak Park leaders talked at their Oct. 21 meeting about a plan to pass an “ICE free zone” ordinance banning agents from operating on village-owned property, similar to legislation passed recently in Chicago, Evanston, Cook County, Lake County and other communities in the region this month. Such an ordinance would include collaborations with other governmental agencies like the Oak Park Library, school districts, park district and Oak Park Township to adopt uniform policies, trustees said.
“We have a very caring community that is capable of mobilizing and being leaders in very challenging times,” Village President Vicki Scaman said. “If it’s community keeping community safe, we want to make sure that everyone knows what ‘know your rights’ means.”
“History is going to be on our side for acting and responding and taking care of each other. And when we look back at history where we have seen this before, very, very tragically, history will tell that it is community that protects each other.”
The federal government says it’s arrested more than 1,000 undocumented immigrants in its so-called Operation Midway Blitz, which has led to chaotic scenes across the region and allegations that federal agents are illegally violating residents’ rights and racially profiling Latino people and other minorities.
Oak Park already has an immigration sanctuary ordinance on the books that bars village employees from aiding federal immigration investigations, but the proposed plan would take those measures a step further. Village officials have also been monitoring the parking lot at Oak Park’s Village Hall after ICE agents had staged vehicles and personnel on the property in September.
The village board’s discussion took place one day after Oak Park attorney and immigrant’s rights advocate Scott Sakiyama was arrested outside of Lincoln Elementary School after following a van driven by ICE agents and honking his horn and blowing a whistle to alert people that the unmarked car was driven by federal agents. The arrest forced the school into “secure” lockdown protocol and represented just the latest Oak Parker to be detained by federal agents.
“It’s no longer theoretical, it’s here in Oak Park,” said Trustee Derek Eder, referencing Sakiyama’s arrest.
Eder and Trustee Jenna Leving Jacobson put the discussion on the agenda with the hope that it would lay out guidance for village staff to prepare legislation that the board could vote on at a special meeting Nov. 4, when a deeper discussion on the matter will take place.
“This is the top-of-mind concern for everyone I’m talking to in the community,” Leving Jacobson said. “We’re continuing that conversation about what more we can do. The intention is to be decisive, to have something we can vote on at our next meeting.”
“I hope we can continue to look at our role, our levers of power and our relationships across the community,” she said.
Eder and Leving Jacobson prepared a memo on the issue that laid out two key components for a “starting point” for the village’s refreshed strategy, the first being new ordinance language banning federal immigration agents from government property and the second being a revamped communications strategy aimed at sharing guidance for what residents should do when encountering agents.
“We’d like to create a shared communication plan and funding with the goal that every person who lives, works or visits the village of Oak Park knows what to do when observing federal agents,” Eder said. “This plan should include but not be limited to shared signage, handouts and other materials for use across government bodies in Oak Park, best practices for residents hiring day laborers like roofers, landscapers and movers who face real risk for racial profiling and ICE enforcement.”
Signage could include phrases like “this space is ICE Free” or “We protect all workers.” The communications effort could also involve the use of village emergency notification systems to alert residents about immigration enforcement operations in town, Eder said.
In the weeks since federal immigration enforcement efforts intensified in the area, Oak Park Village Manager Kevin Jackson asked village department heads to prepare strategy proposals to support a village-wide effort to “operationalize” the village’s immigration sanctuary ordinance “through concrete action”, said Kellye Keyes, Oak Park’s DEI director.
These steps included the parking lot monitoring and publishing information on immigration resources through official village communication channels, said.
Trustee Chibuike Enyia thanked village staff and the Oak Park Police Department in particular for staying true to the village’s sanctuary ordinance.
“You all have done a fantastic job of rising to the occasion,” Enyia said. “I strongly support our officers, and I love that they support what this village stands for. We couldn’t ask for more and I just wish other organizations were committed to taking the same steps that you all have.”
Trustee Jim Taglia warned that the village should be cautious with its strategy so not to attract a backlash from the federal government and to make sure that any steps the village takes make a real difference.
“I think we need to focus on taking material measures for keeping residents safe as opposed to making a decree that may have little effect,” Taglia said. “The village is like an ant and the federal government is like an elephant, so it’s not a fair fight, if you want to use that word. I am concerned, to some degree, about retaliation. We have to be mindful that the federal government is not just going to allow things to always happen.