ICE threatened Illinois Sheriff Tom Dart with criminal charges over access to inmates for immigration enforcement

Madeline Buckley and Caroline Kubzansky, Chicago Tribune on Aug 6, 2026

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CHICAGO — Federal authorities sent Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart subpoenas for inmates wanted for civil immigration enforcement along with letters that threatened criminal charges if the office didn’t turn over the individuals, according to the sheriff’s office and public records obtained by the Tribune.

The New York Times was the first to report on the existence of the letters, which appear to be the Trump administration’s latest tactic to try to gain access to jails in sanctuary jurisdictions. The Times reported that letters were also sent to Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt, who called it a “scare tactic.”

Hennepin County covers Minneapolis, where federal agents surged immigration enforcement operations on the heels of Operation Midway Blitz.

The letters from Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, obtained through a Freedom of Information request, contended that Dart could face charges of witness tampering if his office did not allow inmates to fulfill the terms of the subpoena, which called for them to appear before immigration authorities.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Though unlikely to lead to criminal charges that would pass muster by a judge, the letters mark the latest clash over federal immigration enforcement in Illinois, which has been a target of the administration of President Donald Trump for policies that prohibit local law enforcement agencies from participating in civil immigration enforcement.

According to a statement from a spokesperson for Dart, the office in July received four letters that accompanied subpoenas for inmates, though three had already been released by the time they were received. The office provided the remaining inmate with the subpoena, which “demanded the person to attend an interview at the federal agency’s office and requested the Sheriff’s Office to allow this person to go to the interview or bring the person over to the office whenever this person was released.”

According to the statement from the office, state law does not allow sheriff’s personnel to “release an individual in custody to any law enforcement agency or federal agents for an interview.”

“The Sheriff’s Office is also not allowed to turn individuals over upon release for an interview with federal agents or any other law enforcement agency,” the statement said.

The four letters were sent on separate days in July along with subpoenas for four different inmates, whose names were redacted as part of typical privacy redactions under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act.

The first letter, dated July 9, asked that the sheriff bring the subpoenaed inmate before a deportation officer at the ICE building at 101 W. Ida B. Wells Drive on Aug. 6 and said that failing to allow the inmate to “comply with the attached subpoena may constitute tampering with a witness” in violation of federal law, potentially resulting in fines and a prison sentence if convicted.

“If such an appearance is not practicable, you are expected to instead produce (the inmate) at the date and time of his or her release from your facility,” the letter said.

The letters were signed by assistant field office directors Jimmy Bahena and Raymond Hernandez and asked Dart to serve the inmates with the summons and have them acknowledge receipt.

Trump has railed against Gov. JB Pritzker and other state and local officials for the so-called sanctuary laws, which mean, among other things, that Dart’s office cannot turn over inmates to federal immigration agencies without a federal criminal warrant or court order.

The Trump administration has repeatedly criticized local corrections agencies for not fulfilling detainer requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, though the Cook County sheriff’s office and the Illinois Department of Corrections have said in statements that state law does not allow the agencies to assist with federal immigration enforcement.

In 2025, the administration sued Illinois, Cook County and Chicago for their sanctuary policies, arguing that the laws “have the purpose and effect of making it more difficult for, and deliberately impeding, federal immigration officers’ ability to carry out their responsibilities in those jurisdictions.” The complaint, though, was dismissed by a federal judge later that year.

Legal experts and immigration advocates say sanctuary policies, which have a long history in the United States, were enacted so that local police can retain the trust of community members, who they need to work with to address public safety issues. Passed in 2017, the Illinois TRUST Act was enacted to “bolster community trust and cooperation” between law enforcement and the populations that they serve, according to a fact sheet from the Illinois attorney general.

Chicago’s path to becoming a sanctuary city, though, goes back decades. In March of 1985, Mayor Harold Washington signed an executive order that strengthened Chicago’s status as a sanctuary city.

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