(The Center Square) – The Illinois Accountability Commission is studying changes in federal immigration law enforcement after President Donald Trump’s border czar promised improvements.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker created the commission when he issued an executive order Oct. 23. On Thursday, hours before the panel’s second public hearing in Chicago on Friday, the governor asked the commission examine the impact of the conduct and decisions that “key Trump administration officials” made related to Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago.
Commission chair Rubén Castillo agreed to take up the request.
“I believe this is in line with the work and the charge of the commission to ensure we bring to light all of the actions that harmed people in Illinois,” Castillo said in a statement from the governor’s office.
Journalist and historian Garrett Graff testified before the panel and discussed issues that affected U.S. Customs and Border Protection long before President Donald Trump took office.
Graff cited CBP discipline reports from 2005 to 2024 and said CBP has been the most troubled federal law enforcement agency for the better part of two decades.
“At least 4,913 CBP officers and agents have been arrested themselves, some multiple times,” Graff said, adding that CBP had higher arrest rates than undocumented immigrants.
“Since 9/11, the culture of [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and CBP has meant that the agencies have been what you might call a fascist secret police in waiting, troubled agencies simply waiting for an ambitious, would-be authoritarian,” Graff said.
The next witness, Deborah Fleischaker, previously served as executive secretary for the Department of Homeland Security and worked for ICE as chief of staff and assistant director for regulatory affairs.
Fleischaker said immigration enforcement has shifted from rule bound to outcome driven.
“Leadership communicates desired headlines, and officers are expected to lead the news instead of delivering public safety results,” Fleischaker said.
Fleischaker said public safety is not enhanced when immigration enforcement is driven by quotas and involves rapid hiring and shortened training.
“Such enforcement does not enhance public safety. It erodes trust, discourages cooperation with law enforcement, redirects other law enforcement activities, robs officers of their discretion and ultimately makes communities less safe,” Fleischaker said.
Border czar Tom Homan reported to Minnesota in the last week and said he did not want to hear that everything done by federal law enforcement was perfect.
“President Trump and I along with others in the administration have recognized that certain improvements could and should be made. That’s exactly what I’m doing here,” Homan said.
The border czar said the Trump administration would not surrender its mission to enforce U.S. immigration law.
Homan called on state and local governments to give federal officers access to jailed public safety threats who are in the country illegally.
“It’s common sense. It’s safer for the community. It’s safer for the agent, and it’s safer for the alien,” Homan said.
Before Friday’s hearing ended, Castillo said it became clear that Chicago is a target of action for the Trump administration.
“I certainly second, and I think the commission will second, the idea that people need to be prosecuted,” Castillo said.
Castillo also said that state law needs to be changed.
On Wednesday, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said he was looking at an executive order that would create a pathway for prosecution of federal law enforcement officers who engage in criminal misconduct.
The accountability commission issued its preliminary report, but Castillo said a final report would not come out for months.
###
