Chicago Immigration Policy Working Group: City of Chicago Can Strengthen Protections for Immigrants

Chicago, IL –(ENEWSPF)–November 16, 2016. In response to the national racialized, xenophobic, anti-immigrant rhetoric and with cities across the United States at risk of losing federal funding because of its “sanctuary” status, the Chicago City Council passed a resolution reaffirming the City’s commitment to continue to be a welcoming city for immigrants. The Chicago Immigration Policy Working Group, made up of immigrant-rights organizations throughout the City, issued a list of additional concrete steps that the City can take to strengthen its support and defense of immigrant Chicagoans.

Although municipalities have limited influence in stopping deportation by federal officials, the following list of policies and practices are some concrete measures that the City of Chicago should implement to protect immigrants and undocumented Chicagoans and their families:

Defend and strengthen the Welcoming City Ordinance: Chicago is one of many cities across the country that have limited local law enforcement’s collaboration with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in order to protect undocumented residents from being detained by or deported by ICE. President-Elect Donald Trump has threatened to eliminate federal funding for so-called “sanctuary cities.” Mayor Emanuel has an opportunity to live up to his commitment that Chicago remain a welcoming city for all residents, by strengthening the existing ordinance, including by removing categories of individuals currently exempted from protection, and treating all residents fairly and equally in the City of Chicago.[1]
Improve emergency response systems for immigrants and people with limited English language proficiency: Establish greater response procedures to address hate crimes on immigrants, including making resources available for immigrants to access important legal information, such as whether they would qualify for a U visa, a visa that improves law enforcement’s ability to investigate and prosecute crime and also protects immigrant survivors of crime. In addition, because there is currently a backlog of U visa certifications in Chicago, the City should alleviate the burden on the Chicago Police Department by expanding U visa certification to other qualifying municipal agencies. Additionally, the City must ensure emergency services are equipped to assist people with limited English language proficiency. Although the City is in the process of making language access a priority, emergency services and 311 operators are still not equipped to assist non-English speakers.[2]

Limit sharing information and data about non-citizens: As the City of Chicago moves forward with creating municipal identification cards (Municipal ID) for all residents, including undocumented Chicagoans,[3] the City must be vigilant about the amount and type of information that is collected, particularly if the federal government may have access to its database in the future; and therefore, the City must establish a mechanism to safeguard personal information of undocumented residents. The City should actively consult and troubleshoot with experts and policy and immigrant rights advocacy groups about how best to keep undocumented Chicagoans safe through its municipal ID program.
Support federal and state-wide policies to protect undocumented immigrants: Immigrant rights organizations, legal-service providers, and community advocates are urging federal and local governments to enact policies that support and protect undocumented immigrants in the state of Illinois, specifically to adequately fund immigrant services, make scholarships available to undocumented students, and untangle local law enforcement’s involvement in immigration enforcement.[4] Statewide policies, like guaranteeing immigrant services are funded and passing the TRUST Act and the Student Access Bill, would go a long way in protecting Illinois immigrant residents from inhumane deportation practices and provide better opportunities for integration. We urge the Mayor to use his influence to push for a statewide TRUST Act and for Governor Rauner to support these measures. In addition, at the federal level the Obama Administration could enact executive orders to expand protection for undocumented immigrants, including a proposed “pardon” for undocumented immigrants that would shield individuals from deportation under a Trump presidency.[5]
Explore designating municipal institutions, such as schools, police departments, and city buildings as safe “sanctuary” spaces for undocumented immigrants: Even with a strong Welcoming City Ordinance or “sanctuary” city policies, immigration enforcement by federal agents will continue to take place in Chicago. ICE and other federal law-enforcement agents can still target people living in Chicago for home raids and deportations.[6] Currently, there is a national call for universities around the country to be designated as sanctuary spaces as a way to defend undocumented students from deportation.[7] The city should designate certain municipal institutions as sanctuary spaces, should undocumented immigrants need a place for protection from deportation or immigration raids in the future.
Provide pro bono or low-cost representation to low-income immigrants in Chicago’s immigration courts by expanding existing legal services: Immigrants with deportation orders have no right to court-appointed representation in legal proceedings. In Chicago less than 14% of immigrants in immigration court have legal representation, according to data from Syracuse University.[8] This rate is one of the lowest among courts that hear a large number of cases, which means that fewer immigrants have a chance to get a fair hearing of their case in the city of Chicago. In particular, asylum seekers have a much higher chance of staying in the U.S. when represented by an attorney.[9] The City of Chicago should work with legal providers to assess the cost of providing legal representation for Chicago’s low income immigrants and children, and increase access to court-appointed representation in immigration court to low income immigrants and children by expanding the capacity of existing agencies that provide pro-bono or low-bono legal services.
Revisit criminal justice reform, particularly implementing diversionary programs and policies relating to the DUI Strike Force: Diversionary programs provide an effective alternative to jail for individuals who have committed low-level offenses and facilitates access to social services and rehabilitation programs. Programs like Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) diverts individuals from jail, and has been successfully implemented in Seattle, WA, Santa Fe, NM, and Albany, NY.[10] The program could help low-level offenders receive the help they need while avoiding deportation. Further, since May 2015, various Chicago Tribune investigations found that up to 84% of the roadside checks for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) took place in African-American and Latino neighborhoods.[11] Immigrant rights groups have called attention to the negative effects of the DUI checkpoints on immigrant communities, highlighting that immigrants with DUIs are one of the “priorities” for deportation for the Department of Homeland Security.[12] If immigrant communities are being over-policed and DUI arrests are being carried out in a targeted manner, the Chicago Police Department and the City of Chicago need to address their complicity in this deportation dragnet.

In August 2016, the Chicago Immigration Policy working group released a 6-point plan proposing several steps for the City of Chicago to take to make it a more immigrant friendly city.[13] The members of the group have been working with members of the Chicago City Council and Mayor Emanuel to advance these proposals, and will continue to work with the city “to [make] Chicago the most immigrant friendly city in the world.”[14]

The Chicago Immigration Policy Working Group includes the Southwest Organizing Project, Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Chicago, National Immigrant Justice Center, Organized Communities Against Deportations, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, Mujeres Latinas en Acción, Centro de Trabajadores Unidos – Immigrant Worker Project, Chicago Community and Worker’s Rights, Enlace Chicago, the Latino Policy Forum, Korean American Resource and Cultural Center, the Latino Union of Chicago, and the Chicago Religious Leadership Network.

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[1] http://chicagoreporter.com/police-interactions-with-immigrants-targeted-for-reform-in-chicago/

[2] http://www.advancingjustice-chicago.org/chicago-language-access-ordinance-is-a-good-start/

[3] https://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/mayor/press_room/press_releases/2016/october/Municipal-ID-Program.html

[4]http://www.icirr.org/news-events/news/details/1062/immigrant-leaders-call-on-rauner-to-advance-pro-immigrant-illinois-is-safe-agend

[5] http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/06/opinion/can-obama-pardon-millions-of-immigrants.html

[6] http://fusion.net/story/316432/immigration-raids-midwest-2016/

[7] http://www.vibe.com/2016/11/colleges-universities-immigrant-safety/

[8] http://chicagoreporter.com/finding-a-lawyer-a-huge-obstacle-for-asylum-seekers-in-chicago/

[9] http://chicagoreporter.com/finding-a-lawyer-a-huge-obstacle-for-asylum-seekers-in-chicago/

[10]http://www.drugpolicy.org/resource/law-enforcement-assisted-diversion-lead-reducing-role-criminalization-local-drug-control

[11] http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/watchdog/ct-dui-checkpoints-chicago-met-20150507-story.html#page=1, http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/watchdog/ct-chicago-dui-checkpoints-met-20150909-story.html?f