In the wake of pressure from officials as well as legal and advocacy groups, Chief Judge Timothy Evans has enacted a general order prohibiting warrantless arrests by immigration agents in or around county courthouses.

Earlier this month, Cook County Public Defender Sharone Mitchell Jr. and a coalition of legal groups and social service organizations petitioned the chief judge to take steps to prevent immigration arrests around the courthouses . The presence of agents around court buildings — including the domestic violence-focused courthouse — has been a cause for alarm for lawyers and community members who feared that people would increasingly not be able to access justice and due process in Cook County.

Court facilities have historically been spared when it comes to immigration enfor

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