The Cook County Board of Commissioners on Sept. 17 voted to approve Resolution 25-3451, denouncing what the measure called “callous and deceptive tactics” by federal immigration agents including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Commissioners concurred with the Human Relations Committee recommendation to approve the substitute resolution and adopted it by voice vote.

Advocates and community leaders told the board the resolution matters because federal immigration operations have had immediate effects on families and on courthouse safety. “The word we have for this is evil,” said the Rev. Lindsay Joyce, speaking for the Logan Square Ecumenical Alliance, Grace Church of Logan Square and Arise Chicago, describing ICE actions she said were “tearing families apart” and leaving children without parents.

Speakers asked the board to pair the declaration with funding and operational changes. Fazika Alam, who identified herself with the United African Organization, urged the county to expand legal services for detained immigrants, including growing the number of immigration attorneys in Cook County. Multiple speakers, including Itohan Osaikbovo of the NFC coalition, the Westside Justice Center’s Tanya D. Woods and Moises Abala of ARISE Chicago, asked the board to increase funding for the public defender’s office and nonprofit legal aid organizations that provide rapid-response and immigration representation.

Board members and presenters also highlighted reports of ICE activity in and around county courthouses and requested that the county hold a hearing to examine those incidents and identify steps to keep people safe. Adjust Harvest director David Zolton and Faith Liberation Movement organizer JC Muhammad asked the board to convene a formal review of reported courthouse abductions and to improve interagency information sharing.

The vote followed extensive public comment. Sponsors on the Human Relations Committee moved to approve the substitute language of Resolution 25-3451; the board adopted the measure by voice vote with the chair noting the ayes had it.

What the resolution directs is limited to the text the board adopted at the meeting; speakers repeatedly urged supplementary steps the board itself did not adopt at the meeting, including a county-funded expansion of immigration counsel and a formal county hearing into ICE activity in county courtrooms.

Advocates made two concrete asks the board did not formalize during the meeting: immediate expansion of immigration attorneys within the Cook County Public Defender’s Office and a public hearing to review ICE activity in county courthouses. Commissioners and staff said they would notify the board about next steps and about any requests for additional funding.

The resolution’s passage represents a formal county-level denunciation of federal immigration enforcement tactics and a public signal of support for immigrant communities; further operational or budgetary steps would require separate board action.

A copy of the adopted substitute resolution will be included in the board record for 25-3451; advocates asked the board to follow with funding and oversight measures in coming committee meetings.