Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle is urging Chief Judge Timothy Evans to ban civil arrests in and around courthouses and county buildings in response to a recent surge in immigration arrests across the area.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have been increasingly present at Cook County courthouses under President Donald Trump’s deportation campaign this year, especially since his administration’s “Operation Midway Blitz” began in September targeting the Chicago area.

Preckwinkle has signed on with the Cook County Public Defender’s office and a coalition of legal aid groups in a petition asking Evans to prohibit federal law enforcement officers from making civil arrests at county courthouses without a judicial warrant.

“Deterring people from participating in t

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