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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION URGING CONGRESS NOT TO ALLOCATE ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR THE U.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT (ICE) AND THE U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION (CBP) GIVEN THE AGGRESSIVE AND DANGEROUS TACTICS BY FEDERAL AGENTS
WHEREAS, the Trump Administration’s assault on communities in the name of immigration enforcement continues to erode constitutional rights and endanger residents; and
WHEREAS, in September 2025, the Cook County Board of Commissioners passed Resolution #25-3451, denouncing the tactics of federal agents including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agents (ICE) and calls for strong congressional oversight; and
WHEREAS, immigration authorities continue to employ increasingly dangerous tactics, such as engaging in unprovoked violence, pointing firearms at civilians, violently arresting civilians including U.S. citizens, and deploying chemical weapons without warning in residential areas, causing harm to schoolchildren and local law enforcement; and
WHEREAS, from September 2025 through January 30, 2026, immigration agents have shot twenty individuals, including three that resulted in their deaths: Silverio Villegas González, a father of two, in Franklin Park, IL; Renee Good, a U.S. citizen and mother of three, in Minneapolis, MN; and Alex Pretti, a U.S. citizen and federal employee who served as an intensive care nurse for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, also in Minneapolis, MN; and
WHEREAS, conditions in immigration detention facilities continue to deteriorate, with dangerous overcrowding and reports of substandard food, inadequate access to clean water, excessive use of solitary confinement, and medical neglect including an active measles outbreak at a detention center in Dilley, Texas that houses children; and
WHEREAS, since President Trump assumed office on January 20, 2025, an unprecedented thirty-eight individuals have died in the custody of ICE, and an average of 170 children a day have been held in custody under the current leadership; and
WHEREAS, approximately ninety percent of individuals being detained are in for-profit facilities, which have a long history of cutting corners on essential services to generate profits; and
WHEREAS, the federal immigration system is a civil system, not a criminal system, and immigration detention is intended to be non-punitive, as explicitly stated on ICE’s official website; and
WHEREAS, in July 2025, Congress gave the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) historic additional funding through the reconciliation process, providing $64 billion for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and $75 billion for ICE alone, making ICE the highest funded U.S. law enforcement agency; and
WHEREAS, on Thursday, January 29, 2026, U.S. Senators voted against a federal funding package that includes a DHS funding bill that would have provided billions of new tax dollars to ICE and CBP; and
WHEREAS, negotiations continue between the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, and the White House, on whether additional funding should be granted given the recent actions of federal agents; and
WHEREAS, immigration enforcement activity such as Operation Midway Blitz in Cook County, has contributed to the erosion of public trust in local law enforcement and has caused economic and social distress countywide, leading to revenue drops for small businesses, gaps in attendance records for students of color, and a steep drop in 911 calls made between September and December 2025.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Members of the Cook County Board of Commissioners calls on Congress to not allocate any additional funding for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security until there is an end to the aggressive and dangerous tactics of ICE and CBP.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the Cook County Board expresses support for safeguards that:
1. Mandate that DHS obtain a judicial warrant for arrests, cease employing masked agents for immigration enforcement actions, and prohibit enforcement at sensitive locations;
2. End detention abuses by eliminating the use of private, for-profit detention facilities, prohibiting funding for facilities that pose a threat to the health, safety, or due process rights of detained individuals, and restoring access to bond hearings;
3. End improper U.S. Border Patrol deployments in communities nationwide, both of which are compromising public safety, endangering the health and safety of residents, unduly harming children and vulnerable adults, and violating the legal and constitutional rights of American citizens and immigrants and refugees; and
4. Mandate independent investigations of lawlessness and violence perpetrated by immigration agents with meaningful consequences for agents engaging in unprovoked violence and violations of individual constitutional rights, including mandatory referral for excessive use of force, in-custody deaths, and firearm discharges.
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that a suitable copy of this resolution be tendered to the Illinois Congressional delegation, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Majority and Minority Leaders to emphasize the significance and urgency of this issue.
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