Trips to work, school, and the grocery store have suddenly taken on a different tone in parts of Lake County, where community groups and local officials say recent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity has people thinking twice before leaving home.
Rapid-response volunteers report that ICE has carried out multiple detainments across the county over the past month, including a June 20 traffic stop in Mundelein and an incident outside a Waukegan factory on July 8. Organizers and prosecutors say the stepped-up enforcement is rattling residents and making it harder to investigate crimes, as more people hesitate to talk to authorities at all.
Volunteers with local rapid-response teams say agents detained two people in the parking lot of Thermoflex in Waukegan and have flagged other recent stops near a Uline warehouse, according to community accounts and coverage from Patch. The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights' Lake County Rapid Response Team and other organizers say they were in the area after the July 8 activity, alerting neighbors and urging them to stay informed.
What officials say
As reported by the Chicago Tribune, Mano a Mano and other rapid-response volunteers counted five ICE apprehensions in Lake County over the past 30 days. That tally includes a June 20 Mundelein traffic stop where volunteers say three people were taken from a vehicle.
"There is a lot of fear," Mano a Mano executive director Dulce Ortiz told the Tribune, describing how word of the encounters has spread through local neighborhoods. Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart likewise warned that anxiety over federal enforcement is discouraging crime victims and witnesses from working with his office, complicating efforts to bring local cases to trial.
An ICE spokesperson told the Tribune that one person from the Mundelein stop was Esteban Salinas‑Reyes, who was deported in 2015, and that other noncitizens in the vehicle were removed from the country. The agency framed the actions as part of its broader effort to locate people who have previously been ordered removed.
Legal context
Federal law makes it a crime to reenter the United States after being removed. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1326, prosecutors can bring criminal charges against people found in the country after a prior removal, with penalties that increase if the person has a felony record. The statute is frequently cited in cases where ICE says someone has returned after deportation; see the U.S. Code for the full text.
Community response and resources
In the wake of the recent detainments, Mano a Mano and the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights have been mobilizing volunteers and reminding residents of their basic rights when dealing with federal agents. Advocates are telling people they have the right to remain silent, the right to ask whether they are under arrest, and the right to contact an attorney.
Community groups have also circulated the ICIRR Family Support Hotline at 855‑435‑7693, which can be used to report encounters with ICE and request legal referrals. Volunteers have encouraged residents to film enforcement activity when it is safe to do so and to reach out for legal counsel as quickly as possible. Those recommendations were shared with local reporters and volunteers after the Waukegan activity, as reported by Lake & McHenry County Scanner.
Local officials say they are monitoring ICE activity in the area and are urging residents to report incidents both to rapid-response teams and, when appropriate, to local law enforcement. This is a developing story, and updates will be added as more information becomes available.
