URBANA – Federal agents are planning to be in Champaign-Urbana this week — but not for immigration enforcement.
Rumors have been swirling that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will be in town. Champaign County Sheriff Dustin Heuerman said the rumors are not true.
“It is completely a rumor that ICE will be in town and not based on reliable information. I have verified this weekend with our federal partners that there are no scheduled ICE operations occurring in our area,” Heuerman said.
“There are some non-ICE federal agents supposed to be in Central Illinois this week working with some local jurisdictions on criminal warrant apprehension.”
Heuerman says that task is not immigration-related and the people involved are not ICE agents.
On Friday, the New American Welcome Center at the University YMCA posted a statement saying the immigrant advocacy group had heard the rumors and was taking the threat seriously.
On Saturday, Urbana Mayor DeShawn Williams said the city had not heard verified information and was actively monitoring the situation.