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Aurora, Illinois, has enacted a new ordinance prohibiting federal agents from using city facilities to detain immigrants unless they have a valid warrant.
During a specially convened meeting on Wednesday night, the ordinance received unanimous approval from city officials.
Aurora joins a growing number of local communities adopting similar legislation, though doubts remain about the effectiveness of these measures.
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Recently, federal agents were seen investigating a vehicle in a parking lot belonging to an Aurora public school. The situation escalated when activists confronted the agents, resulting in the arrest of Ruben Morales, who claims he was physically assaulted during the encounter.
“I wasn’t even informed that I was under arrest,” Morales recounted. “They just put me in handcuffs without explanation.”
In response, the local school district has implemented its own policy, barring federal agents from entering school property without a warrant.
READ MORE | US citizens detained by feds speak out after protesters confront agents at Aurora school, hospital
The agents also arrested fellow activist Jessi Olazaba, and in the process, she hit her head on the concrete and needed medical treatment. Activists and Aurora Mayor John Laesch showed up at the hospital, where they confronted agents.
Laesch is now supporting a proposed city ordinance banning agents from using city property without a warrant.
“This creates that opportunity for us to all do a little bit more in a very challenging and frustrating situation, where ICE is operating outside the boundaries of the law, violating people’s constitutional rights,” Laesch said.
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The Aurora City Council debated the proposed ordinance at a special meeting Wednesday night. They join numerous other communities, including Chicago, that have passed similar ordinances in the last few weeks.
However, legal experts question how effective these laws are when the federal agents are protected by the U.S. constitution.
“The supremacy clause. The feds really can do what they want and can trump state law,” ABC7 Chief Legal Analyst Gil Soffer said. “But states have their rights as well and it is a very gray area and highly debated.”
Ultimately, those debates will have to be settled in court. So far, none of the local ordinances have been tested in court to determine whether they are constitutional.
