City needs to reassure it’s not cooperating with ICE in violation of Safe Sanctuary

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Updated: March 24, 2012 9:02AM

Mayor Rahm Emanuel promised to make Chicago the most immigrant-friendly city in the world, and I’d agree he has taken steps in the right direction.

I appreciated Emanuel’s support for the Illinois Dream Act in times when the national debate on immigration could not be more strident and a number of states have opted for harsh legislation to make life miserable for undocumented immigrants.

Then Emanuel opened the Office for New Americans to provide information on city services to recent immigrants. He got it right when he called immigrants the “lifeblood” and “economic engine” of Chicago.

But now the Illinois Coalition for Immigrants and Refugee Rights, a conglomerate of more than 100 community organizations, is accusing Emanuel and the Chicago Police Department of cooperating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in violation of the city’s Safe Sanctuary ordinance.

Last week, the police arrested Rose Tchakounte, a 54-year-old Cameroonian mother, who was stopped on the South Side for failure to use her turn signal.

Tchakounte, along with her son, legally entered the country in 2001 seeking asylum. Then she missed a court date, allegedly because her lawyer failed to tell her about it. The police checked her immigration status — in violation of the 2006 ordinance and preceding executive orders dating back to 1985 — and arrested her. She spent two days in jail before being turned over to ICE.

“The police officers not only reported Rose Tchakounte to ICE, but also transported her to ICE offices,” Fred Tsao, policy director of ICIRR, told me. “They violated the sanctuary ordinance.”

The police say officers will not stop, detain or arrest anybody based on immigration status, but officers must act upon discovery of a warrant, as in Tchakounte’s case.

Activists claimed that there is another case, involving two Mexican brothers who were detained at their home by ICE after Chicago Police ticketed one of them on a minor infraction. Now both are at an ICE facility in Wisconsin, waiting to be deported.

I find the allegations troubling. The police depend on establishing trust with the community to do their job. The last thing Police Supt. Garry McCarthy needs is for word to spread in Latino neighborhoods that his officers are cooperating with the immigration authorities.

Tarrah Cooper, the mayor’s spokeswoman, told me that Emanuel “is committed to ensuring that Chicago remains a sanctuary city.” That’s good to know.

Many Latinos remember the immigration raid on April 24, 2007, when heavily armed ICE and FBI agents descended on a strip mall in Little Village. For a long time, Latino residents felt targeted and were distraught. Now many immigrants and their families are concerned about the record number of deportations across the country and the anti-immigrant fervor in some states.

I suggest that McCarthy publicly reassure Latinos and other immigrants that the Chicago Police are not cooperating with ICE. Fear spreads quickly while trust takes years to build.