Village of Skokie officials indicated at last week’s Village Board meeting that they will strengthen the village’s “Welcoming City” ordinance.
Trustee Khem Khoeun asked Mayor George Van Dusen if the village needed to update its welcoming village ordinance given recent immigration enforcement raids and the anxiety that some people in Skokie’s immigrant community are dealing with.
“I know that for a segment of our community, they don’t feel safe right now. They are scared,” Khouen said.
Hours before the meeting, Fred Tsao, the senior policy counsel at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, wrote to village officials on what they could do to strengthen the village’s immigration enforcement ordinance, which the village implement in 2017.
Recently, Tsao also assisted the city of Evanston improve its Welcoming City Ordinance, which the city enacted a week before President Trump was inaugurated.
Corporation Counsel Michael Lorge, a recipient of Tsao’s letter, said, “We will look at the suggestions, but none of them suggest that we’re missing anything in terms of concept or intent.”
“It’s more language nuance to make sure that nothing is misunderstood,” Lorge added.
Van Dusen said Skokie’s existing ordinance was established during Trump’s first term in office, when the administration attempted enacting a travel ban for seven Muslim majority countries. The ban was ultimately blocked, but the effort apparently impacted Skokie residents.
Van Dusen recalled an incident in 2017 when a personal friend of his said her daughter in grade school was concerned she could be deported because she was Muslim, despite being born in the United States.
“No person in this country should have to fear… As far as I’m concerned, the Congress of the United States has an obligation to pass comprehensive immigration reform so that we can establish trust between our government and our citizens,” Van Dusen said.
Trustee James Johnson asked if the board could “repeat or renew” the village’s ordinance to publicly reaffirm the village’s spirit and policy in having a “sanctuary ordinance.”
“We’d be happy to redraft for the next meeting and bring it back,” Lorge replied.
During the public comment period, residents lauded the trustees’ efforts to reinforce the village’s ordinance, while also calling for the village to endorse more protections for groups lambasted by the Trump administration.
“I appreciate that you’re going to review the commentary from Fred Tsao,” Gail Schechter said. “We have a federal government today that is intent on rewriting our nation’s values away from President Lincoln’s, ‘malice for none and charity for all.’”
