Crime & Law
What Can Local Police Do About Aggressive ICE Tactics? Experts Say Not Much
The Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement in the Chicago area is sparking a number of legal battles.
Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino is heading to court Tuesday amid accusations he used tear gas without justification during a raid in Little Village last week. This comes after a federal judge issued protections for journalists, protesters and members of the clergy against the use of force by ICE agents.
Local law enforcement is also caught in the mix as officers respond to clashes between protesters and federal agents — and sometimes get hurt in the process.
And as the U.S. Supreme Court is set to weigh in on a potential National Guard deployment to Chicago, some worry about blurring the line between federal law enforcement and local police authority.
South suburban Hazel Crest Police Chief Mitchell Davis said local police are often caught in the middle of a legal fight they have no authority over. He said he’s concerned about the impact it could have on public trust in law enforcement.
“When our citizens see us out there doing what we have to do to try to de-escalate, they may take that as us partnering with those enforcement officials — which is absolutely not the truth — but I can understand how the optics would make it look otherwise,” Davis said.
Local and state officials have decried the tactics used by federal agents. Gov. JB Pritzker has created a commission to document what he said are abuses by federal immigration agents. Mayor Brandon Johnson issued an executive order barring federal agents from city property.
But the Constitution’s supremacy clause prevents local and state governments from interfering with federal agencies. DePaul University law professor David Franklin said it would be an uphill battle for local police to enforce any of these laws.
“States, generally speaking, are not allowed to limit what federal officers do,” Franklin said. “The federal government, federal law definitely limit what federal officers can do.”
Franklin said local law enforcement can’t do much to respond when federal agents use excessive force. It can be litigated through federal courts. Local officials like Chicago’s corporation counsel or the Illinois attorney general can try to get an injunction or a court order outlining what federal agents can and can’t do.
“Whether the state of Illinois can start arresting ICE officers or Customs and Border Patrol people for violating state law — I think that’s a much more difficult question,” Franklin said.
Local law enforcement agencies typically work with federal law enforcement partners like the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. A deployment of federal troops would add to the multiple jurisdictions involved — the Illinois State Police, the Cook County Sheriff’s Police, municipal police and federal agencies. The National Guard also isn’t trained in law enforcement.
Davis said the use of federal law enforcement without coordination could do more harm than good.
“As a police chief, I want help getting rid of the worst of the worst,” Davis said. “I would absolutely welcome that. That’s how it’s been portrayed, but that’s not how it’s been executed. If that was how it was supposed to be, you’d reach out to the local jurisdictions and say, ‘Hey, who’s causing problems in your neighborhood?’”
WTTW News coverage of policing and police reform is supported by The Joyce Foundation.
