Days after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced it had begun “enhanced targeted operations” in the Chicago area, Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin said that the city’s police department will not be enforcing federal immigration laws, continuing with a “longstanding practice” in Aurora.
In a statement sent to The Beacon-News Wednesday evening, Irvin said a person’s legal status is not considered when Aurora police carry out their duties. That information is also not something the department collects or maintains for the purposes of deportation, he said.
“It is the established practice in Aurora to abstain from enforcement in such matters, unless they pertain to criminal warrants or warrants based on criminal history,” Irvin said in the statement. “In such instances, the city remains fully committed to protecting and upholding the safety and well-being of our community.”
The city of Aurora’s population is more than 40% Hispanic, according to the most recent census data, which is a higher percentage than both Chicago and the state. Over 25% of Aurora’s population from 2019-2023 was also foreign-born, as compared to roughly 14% in Illinois and just over 20% in Chicago, census data shows.
In its own statement posted to social media Wednesday evening, the Aurora Police Department said its policies and practices are aligned with the principles of the Illinois Trust Act, which took effect in 2017. Based on those policies, Aurora police officers are not allowed to stop, arrest, search or detain people based only on their citizenship or immigration status, the statement said.
“These policies have not changed, and our focus remains on enforcing state and local laws to ensure public safety,” police officials said in the statement.
Residents who have specific questions around recent federal immigration policies should reach out to the Aurora Police Department, according to the statement. Police officials said their “commitment to fostering trust, transparency, and open communication with all members of our diverse community remains unchanged.”
The only time the Aurora Police Department would be involved in something related to immigration enforcement is if U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were arresting a person who had committed a crime in or around the city, and Aurora police officers were on-scene to protect other residents during the arrest to make sure no one got involved or got hurt, Irvin told The Beacon-News before President Donald Trump’s inauguration earlier this month.
However, he said it is not the Aurora Police Department’s job to “assist ICE in executing their jurisdiction.”
“What I’ve always said, and what I contend to this day, is that a municipality doesn’t have the resources and should not be engaging in the federal government’s job or jurisdiction, so there should be no Aurora police officers participating with ICE arresting folks that are undocumented,” Irvin said.
Although the Aurora Police Department does not and will not work with ICE under most circumstances, Aurora is not a sanctuary city, according to Irvin.
Since U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has jurisdiction over immigration, there is “absolutely nothing a governor or a mayor can do” if the agency decides to come to a certain state or city, Irvin said. To suggest Aurora is a sanctuary city would be to “falsely tell people that I can protect them from ICE and the federal government, which is absolutely incorrect” based on the law, he said.
The Justice Department has recently ordered federal prosecutors to investigate and potentially criminally charge state or local officials whom the prosecutors think are standing in the way of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts. The Justice Department’s civil division was also tasked with identifying state and local laws and policies that “threaten to impede” the Trump administration’s immigration efforts and, potentially, challenging them in court.
Last week, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul issued updated guidance to state, county and local law enforcement around immigration law.
“State law does not grant local law enforcement the authority to enforce federal civil immigration laws,” Raoul said in a news release. “This includes participating, supporting or assisting in any capacity with federal immigration enforcement operations unless federal agents have a criminal warrant or federal law specifically requires it.”
The Kane County Sheriff’s Office continues to follow the Illinois Trust Act and is not allowed to assist ICE because of that law, Sheriff Ron Hain said in a recent statement.
Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser said that law also stops her office from helping with any immigration enforcement operations, including arrests or detentions, “unless presented with a federal criminal warrant or explicitly required by federal law.
“Our focus remains on prosecuting criminal offenses and ensuring justice for all members of our community, regardless of immigration status,” Mosser said.
DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement that his office, along with all other DuPage County law enforcement agencies, have received training on the Trust Act and other applicable state law and “will continue to comply with all provisions of those acts.”
Beacon-News reporter Molly Morrow contributed.
rsmith@chicagotribune.com