Champaign-Urbana police departments won’t work with ICE as per state law

At an event on January 15, Champaign Police Chief Timothy T. Tyler said he has made the Illinois TRUST Act part of every officer's annual training.


CHAMPAIGN
— As President-Elect Donald Trump takes office Monday promising mass deportations, local police chiefs in Champaign-Urbana say they won’t be collaborating with federal immigration agents.

That approach is a requirement under state law. At an event on January 15, Champaign Police Chief Timothy T. Tyler said he has made that state law part of every officer’s annual training.

“We’re not concerned about immigration status at the Champaign police department,” he said.

The heads of police for Urbana, Champaign County and the University of Illinois all made similar commitments at the event to not work with immigration agents.

The Illinois TRUST Act bars state and local police from enforcing immigration policies unless there’s a criminal warrant. They also cannot ask people about their citizenship status or detain someone based on that status.

For example, if someone without legal status is stopped by police for having tinted windows, that traffic stop would not escalate into a deportation.

“We cannot detain, search or ask questions regarding immigration status,” Champaign City Attorney Tom Yu explained. “They’re to be limited specifically just to whatever they observe might be a criminal violation or a traffic violation.”

Illinois police may also be an unlikely resource for people in the state without legal status.

Yu said he is not providing legal advice to people being deported, but local police do have to investigate missing people and kidnappings.

“All I can say is that if a crime is reported, if someone calls 911, police have to respond and they have to investigate any report of a crime, that’s our charge,” Yu added. “That’s what they’re sworn to do.”

According to longtime activist and community journalist Brian Dolinar, a previous Urbana police chief helped him confirm whether a deportation had taken place, and he and other advocates would let family members know.

Emily Hays

Emily Hays started at WILL in October 2021 after three-plus years in local newsrooms in Virginia and Connecticut. She has won state awards for her housing coverage at Charlottesville Tomorrow and her education reporting at the New Haven Independent. Emily graduated from Yale University where she majored in History and South Asian Studies.