Proposed ‘non-sanctuary’ resolution voted down by DeKalb County Board committee

SYCAMORE – A resolution that would have declared DeKalb County a non-sanctuary county for asylum seekers was voted down in a County Board committee meeting Monday after fervent opposition from the public.

The proposal was before the DeKalb County Board’s Law and Justice Committee. A vote to approve would likely have pushed the proposed resolution forward to the DeKalb County Board for a future vote. The resolution did not pass in committee, however.

DeKalb resident Frankie DiCiaccio, with DeKalb Migrant Aid, said they were surprised the proposed resolution wasn’t sent to a full County Board vote. DeKalb Migrant Ad, a group of local volunteers, formed after the DeKalb City Council passed an ordinance in January targeted at buses carrying migrants, DiCiaccio said.

“I think that if it [the resolution] had passed it would have created a ton of obstacles for us,” DiCiaccio said. “The fact that it didn’t pass doesn’t really remove obstacles for us. We still have work to do. We still have people who need support, and so the work continues.”

DiCiaccio was one of more than a dozen who spoke against the proposed resolution.

Law and Justice Committee Chair Kathy Lampkins, a Republican County Board member from District 2, said she wanted to send the resolution to a vote by the full DeKalb County Board.

“I’d like to see the full board have an opportunity to vote and voice their opinions,” Lampkins said. “I think this is bigger [than most issues before the committee] and the full board should get a vote, and I may vote yes to move it forward and then that night I may vote no. All I’m saying is I want to see it go forward to the whole entire board to make that decision.”

“You don’t get to choose if your home country is war torn, or if you can’t make enough money in your own country to feed your family, that’s just not a choice when you’re born. So we shouldn’t be prohibiting people from coming to America if that’s what would be better for them and their family.”

—  Sydney Nall, 12

The resolution which sits dead for now at the committee level, would have declared that sanctuary cities, such as Chicago, have had their community resources strained by asylum seekers, overwhelming their social service agencies, according to county documents.

“DeKalb County joins with other communities that are concerned with the lack of a Federal or State comprehensive plan for services to these asylum seekers such as Schaumberg, Elk Grove Village and Rosemont who have passed ordinances prohibiting, restricting and taxing the use of Hotels, Motels, Warehouses etc. for the extended use by illegal immigrants,” officials wrote in the failed non-sanctuary status resolution.

That language, and more, was the reason many said they attended Monday’s meeting. A larger-than-normal crowd included multiple County Board members not on the committee, and various municipal officials. While the majority of those in attendance expressed opposition to the sanctuary status resolution, not all were against it.

Dennis DeWolf of Sycamore said he was not there to demonize immigrants, but rather for law and order. He said he also was concerned migrants could bring disease to the community.

“I want people checked out before they come into my community,” DeWolf said. “I’m an immigrant. We’re all immigrants. Are you here for asylum because somebody’s beating your family, or are you here for financial asylum? That’s the big question for me.”

Immigrants to the U.S. have needed to undergo a medical exam since 1892, and refugees typically receive a medical screening within one to three months of arriving into the country, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Those who are not U.S. citizens can only apply for asylum status while physically present in the U.S., and many of those who seek protection have been persecuted due to their race, religion, membership in a particular social group or for their political opinion, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Vern Deljonson, who was against the resolution, said he believes asylum seekers are not ruining the U.S., but instead are who built the county. He also said people shouldn’t assume they’ll never need asylum.

“January 6, ‘21 [2021], should show everyone in this room any one of you could be a refugee,” Deljonson said. “Every person in this room could end up in that position. We’ve got an election coming up where it could turn bad, and every person in this room could be a refugee somewhere. Someone is going to say to you, ’Not in my backyard, not in my neighborhood.’ What do you do then?”

Thirty additional minutes of public comments were authorized by a committee vote, but at least one person who wanted to speak was unable to comment after an hour of comments.

When Lampkins called for a vote, more than a dozen held up a piece of paper with a message to committee: “Vote no.”

Their wish was fulfilled when a vote to forward the resolution to a full DeKalb County Board vote failed 3-3.

DeKalb County Board Chairman Ellingsworth Webb, a Democrat from District 9 who serves as a member on the committee, as well as Amber Quitno, a Democrat from District 3, voted against the measure.

Lampkins and fellow Republican County Board members Patrick Deutsch and Tim Bagby, from Districts 2 and 3, respectively, voted to advance the resolution.

Maureen Little, a Republican from District 1, didn’t follow suit, however.

“In good conscience, no,” Little said to cast her vote.

Jessica Nall of Dekalb was the first person to speak Monday night. She said she was against the resolution because it offends her sense of national pride and her faith.

It was Sydney Nall, 12, however, who garnered a standing ovation from some members of the committee, and the majority of the attending public.

“You don’t get to choose if your home country is war torn, or if you can’t make enough money in your own country to feed your family,” Sydney Nall said. “That’s just not a choice when you’re born. So we shouldn’t be prohibiting people from coming to America if that’s what would be better for them and their family. Last time I checked discrimination against a group of people is illegal and just not right. Now this is how genocide starts, with little things such as discriminating against little groups of people and putting walls against minorities.”