Cook County to Consider Cracking Down on ICE Data Purchasing

Cook County to Consider Cracking Down on ICE Data Purchasing
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Cook County to Consider Cracking Down on ICE Data Purchasing (Cook County, IL) — Yesterday, Mijente announced the introduction of a new amendment to Cook County’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer ordinance that would limit the disclosure of personal information to immigration agents. The amendment, introduced by Commissioner Alma E. Anaya (7th District), would bring accountability to the unchecked data broker industry and protect Cook County residents’ personal information from being shared with ICE.

Private-sector data brokers, such as LexisNexis, provide access to data points on over 276 million U.S. residents that include highly sensitive personal information from financial records, property records, motor vehicle records, criminal records, cell phone data, addresses, and more. Under its $22.1 million contract, ICE has used the LexisNexis database to conduct millions of searches nationwide and target people for deportation. In 2021 alone, ICE’s Chicago Field Office made over 13,000 searches during a seven month period. The new amendment builds on last year’s first-of-its-kind hearing by Cook County commissioners, which investigated LexisNexis’ irresponsible sale of sensitive personal data and marks a new chapter in the ongoing investigation into ICE’s violation of regional sanctuary protections.

“Despite Cook County’s best efforts to protect its non-citizen  residents, ICE extracts personal information from data broker companies to identify, locate, and arrest community members,” said Jacinta Gonzalez, Mijente’s Field Director. “People with health emergencies are terrified to visit the hospital, fearing that ICE might arrest them if they can’t pay their bill. This new amendment would help our local government safeguard the personal information of residents.”

“For-profit tech corporations have quietly gained access to highly sensitive personal information, selling it to thousands of its customers including ICE,” said Julie Mao, Deputy Director at Just Futures Law, “It’s time for local lawmakers to take measures that protect and safe-keep the data of millions of Cook County residents from the profit-schemes of mass surveillance companies.”

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“It’s not enough to call ourselves a welcoming county, we must ensure that both our internal policies and external laws reflect protections for all residents,” said Alma E. Anaya, Cook County Commissioner for the  7th District. “This is a critical step forward in finally closing the loopholes that ICE uses to exploit vulnerable Chicago residents.”

Chicago’s sanctuary record reaches as far back as 1982, and both city and Cook County officials have passed ordinances asserting their ability to reject federal authorities’ detention requests and to prevent police from holding people based only on their suspected immigration status. ICE uses its contracts with data brokers to obtain critical personal data – including highly sensitive information, like home addresses, location data, and physical characteristics – to circumvent Chicago’s Sanctuary City status, which guarantees that the City will not detain residents for ICE or otherwise assist in immigration enforcement.

The advocates anticipate a formal vote by the Cook County Board of Commissioners to vote on the amendment next month.

Cook County to Consider Cracking Down on ICE Data Purchasing

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