Skokie man detained by ICE; local officials trying to get him released

Chicago Tribune

10-07-2025

Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents seized and detained a man who has lived in Skokie for 25 years when he was walking in his neighborhood Saturday, local government officials said.
Several officials quickly expressed concern, and Cook County Commissioner Josina Morita said the man, originally from Mexico, does not have a criminal record, is in his 50s and lives with his family, including his grown children and grandkids.
Morita, in a separate capacity from her commissioner role, also leads the Niles Township branch of the Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights Rapid Response team, which is assisting the Skokie man and his family.
The Skokie man, whose name has not been released, was walking in the area of Cleveland Street and Kedvale Avenue on July 6, Morita said, when immigration agents seized him. Neighbors alerted village officials, who shared news of what they called possible federal immigration activity on the Skokie website.
The news prompted words of support from the Skokie Village Board and U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky's office. At Monday's Skokie Village Board meeting, Mayor Ann Tennes called the incident 'a difficult day in Skokie.'
Rep. Schakowsky is personally leading an attempt to reunite the man with his family, said Alex Moore, her office's communications director.
Morita said that in her role with ICIRR, she has been in contact with the Skokie immigrant's family, and they told her he was transported from Skokie to a federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in Broadview.
Because the Broadview facility is not a detention center, he awaits being transferred to a detention center, with the closest ones being in Wisconsin, Kentucky and Indiana, Morita said. To her knowledge, she said, the Skokie man is the first person to be detained by ICE in Niles Township, which includes Skokie, Lincolnwood and portions of Niles and Morton Grove.
She acknowledged that an Evanston man was also detained by ICE weeks ago at a Starbucks, but did not have additional details.
At the Congressional level, Schakowsky is in contact with ICE, Moore said. It is a common practice, he added, for a representative to call ICE to verify whether an individual was detained lawfully and ask why they were taken.
'Oftentimes, she's [Schakowsky'] been able to get people reunited with their families, and so we're doing everything we can to try and make sure that's the case,' Moore said.
In order for Schakowsky to reunite the family, her office would need to get a Privacy Act Release form for the Skokie man, and Moore said Schakowsky is working on this personally on his behalf.
What's not so common is the practice of how immigrants have been detained by federal authorities under the Trump administration, he said.
'I think that what we've seen is ICE has overstepped in communities all across the country, and so we don't agree with the process at all… And so, no, I wouldn't say that this is the typical process… and that's also a reason why the congresswoman is wanting to speak to ICE specifically.'
Moore said the Skokie man is the first high profile case the representative's office is aware of of someone being detained by ICE in Illinois' 9th Congressional district, which stretches from the area around Rogers Park in Chicago through Evanston, Skokie, Glenview, and northwest to Crystal Lake. He acknowledged it is possible that other people could have been detained and deported without the office receiving notice from ICE.
The village of Skokie posted a civic alert saying ICE did not reach out to the Skokie Police Department or the village of Skokie, as it is federal protocol to keep those detainments confidential. Under an Illinois law called the TRUST Act and village ordinance, the police department is barred from assisting federal immigration officers unless a criminal warrant is signed and approved by a federal judge.
Tennes and village trustees at Monday's Village Board meeting expressed their support of the immigrant community and neighbors in the aftermath of the incident. 'The care and concern expressed by our neighbors throughout Skokie was heartwarming and not at all surprising,' Tennes said.
'What I believe is essential is that we as a community continue to live our values by educating ourselves and making sure that our neighbors also are well informed.'
Trustees added their thoughts, with Trustee Keith Robinson saying, 'There is a rapid response team actively working with the family to make sure they are getting the help that they need. They are not alone and neither are you.
'If you feel called to engage and support during this time, do whatever you feel… whether it's through outreach, understanding the rapid response process, showing up for your neighbors or simply offering kindness. We all play a role in making sure that this community stays strong and united.'
Trustees on the dais largely echoed Robinson's words, with Kimani Levy, an immigrant herself, adding her thoughts.
'As a naturalized citizen myself, it really hit home for me because this is what I lived,' Levy said. 'Going back and forth between U of I and downtown to do my interviews, taking the Constitution test several times… that was my life going back and forth… navigating a very long process towards citizenship,' she said.
'With Skokie being such a diverse community… I'm trying not to get emotional here,' Levy said as she began to choke up. 'It's just very unsettling… and to this entire panel, the village does support our neighbors and we don't like to see anything like this happen.
'I want to put it out there. Not all immigrants are bad people. Many of them, like myself, are your neighbors, coworkers, friends that we work with. We work hard and we contribute positively to this community… so this is what we call home and obviously we want to feel safe,' Levy said.