As the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers amps up across Chicago and in Broadview, Forest Park officials say they don’t know of any Forest Park residents who have been detained.
Mayor Rory Hoskins told the Review that the village’s Oct. 8 statement reporting the update comes at a time when the number and intensity of incidents at the Broadview ICE detention facility are increasing.
“There’s a lot of confusion about what’s happening,” Hoskins said. “We wanted to show the residents that were cognizant of their concerns and that we’re closely monitoring the situation.”
Hoskins said there may have been a recent incident involving ICE at Rush Oak Park Hospital and local officials are trying to confirm if federal agents detained a worker at Concordia Cemetery on Oct. 7.
In the village statement, Forest Park officials said that, under the Illinois TRUST Act, village police are prohibited from helping with federal immigration enforcement. Police are trained in the requirements of the act.
“Our officers are here to protect and serve the community, not to enforce federal immigration laws,” officials said in the Oct. 8 statement. They added that, when residents call 911, village police respond without ICE involvement and will not ask about immigration status or detain a resident because of that.
According to the statement, village officials are collaborating with neighboring communities to ensure that their communities are informed about the nearby presence of ICE.
Hoskins said that, though he hasn’t yet been to the Broadview ICE facility, he recently stood at a press conference with Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson. He said he’s a part of an active group chat with other local mayors, where they discuss reports of ICE activity and their veracity.
Hoskins said Forest Park police officers have, on about four occasions over the past couple weeks, responded to Broadview mutual aid requests to provide help with traffic or crowd control measures around the nearby ICE facility.
Though there was activity at the long vacant, former Armed Forces Reserve Center building at 7402 Roosevelt Rd. last month, the property is just undergoing construction before the Illinois National Guard moves in, likely next year.
Hoskins said the village has reached out to the Illinois National Guard to see whether the building will be used as the National Guard is reportedly deployed to the Chicagoland area.
“They tell us that, as of now, there are no plans to use that for the current National Guard call-up, but those things can change in a heartbeat,” Hoskins said. “We’re closely monitoring what happens there and we have a plan in case there’s activity in Forest Park.”
Hoskins added that the village’s emergency operations team is in the loop about the locations of federal agents and has close contact with local law enforcement agencies and the Cook County Office of Emergency Management and Regional Security.
Forest Park residents seeking legal guidance or resources can contact the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights at (855) 435-7693. Those participating in protests can refer to guidance from the National Lawyers Guild of Chicago.
