The Homewood Village Board on Nov. 11 approved a resolution that prohibits federal immigration authorities from using any village-owned property for civil immigration enforcement activities.

Under the resolution, federal agents are prohibited by law from staging and processing, or conducting civil immigration operations on village parking lots and buildings, including parks. This reinforces Homewood’s commitment to public safety and helps maintain community trust, Hofeld said. 

The policy is in line with the state’s TRUST Act, a 2017 law that limits local law enforcement involvement in federal civil immigration enforcement. Allowing federal agents to use village assets could violate the TRUST Act and deter relationships between residents and local police, Hofeld said. 

“Use of Homewood’s facilities for these purposes would severely erode the public trust between local law enforcement and the community,” Hofeld said in a memo to trustees.

Masked federal agents have been operating throughout the Chicago metropolitan area and south suburban region, including using municipal parking lots and other public properties in several Illinois communities, Hofeld said.

This Homewood resolution also supports Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Executive Order 2025-06, which requires the newly formed Illinois Accountability Commission to document and review unauthorized civil immigration enforcement activity by federal agents. Under that state resolution, Homewood will report any observed or suspected unauthorized use of village property, he said. 

The financial impact is minimal, according to staff, and mostly involves administrative costs for producing and installing signage to indicate restricted areas.