DeKalb police don’t enforce federal immigration laws, city manager says

DeKALB – DeKalb City Manager Bill Nicklas said Monday it’s not the job of local police to enforce federal immigration law, issuing a statement on city policy hours after President Donald Trump’s second inauguration.

Nicklas said he wanted to respond to “a number of citizen concerns and inquiries” regarding the City of DeKalb’s role in immigration and customs enforcement. When asked Monday, Nicklas said while he had heard rumors circulating that federal immigration authorities were in DeKalb, but he was not aware of that being true.

“Those rumors are going to circulate, and I didn’t want them to grow,” Nicklas said to Shaw Local. “I thought it was important that people just know we don’t enforce federal immigration policy.”

Throughout his presidential campaign, Trump frequently promised to enact widespread deportations on his first day in office. He announced plans to target Chicago and other U.S. cities with mass deportation arrests his first week in office, The Associated Press reported.

“Local residents need not fear that federal authorities will be notified after the DeKalb Police pull them over for a traffic violation or respond to a 911 call for help.”

—  DeKalb City Manager Bill Nicklas

The president also is expected to sign a series of executive orders that could crack down on immigration, another political promise. The orders previewed Monday by an incoming White House official before Trump took office will aim to end asylum access, send troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, suspend the refugee program, force people seeking asylum to wait in Mexico and end birthright citizenship. There was little detail on specifically how these broad plans would be executed.

Nicklas said the DeKalb Police Department aligns with the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police and other laws – including the Immigration and Nationality Act and the Illinois TRUST Act – and local officers will not “play a role” in enforcing federal immigration law.

“Regardless of anyone’s immigration status, the DeKalb Police will always help those in need, tend to victims of crime, and work with local agencies to assure the health and welfare of those we serve,” Nicklas said in his statement.

The city manager said local law enforcement staying out of federal immigration activities has been city policy since 2017.

Nicklas’ statement Monday echoed one put out by former DeKalb Police Chief Gene Lowery, now retired, in March 2017. Lowery’s statement was in response to a January 2017 order signed by Trump in his first term regarding undocumented immigrants. Lowery also referenced the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, which at the time announced it would “continue to strongly oppose any initiative that would mandate that state and local law enforcement agencies play a role in the enforcement of federal immigration law.”

Nicklas said attempts to target non-criminals “would destroy the trust our residents need to have” in DeKalb police officers.

“Local residents need not fear that federal authorities will be notified after the DeKalb Police pull them over for a traffic violation or respond to a 911 call for help,” Nicklas said in a statement. “The focus of the DeKalb Police will continue to be criminals or persons who are determined to victimize others for their personal gain.”

The Associated Press contributed.