More than three dozen people crowded into the Legislative Center in Sycamore on Monday night to urge DeKalb County officials to speak out in support of immigrants and address concerns about federal enforcement policy.

DeKalb County Sheriff Andy Sullivan appeared willing to participate in the discourse, responding at length to residents even though it was not on the agenda.

Faced with questions about his office’s potential conduct with federal agents amid an ongoing surge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in Minnesota, Sullivan said his deputies have followed the Illinois TRUST Act for the past nine years.

“We have since 2017, we have not deviated from that,” Sullivan said. “We follow state law. That hasn’t changed. It won’t change.”

The TRUST Act prohibits Illinois law enforcement agencies’ ability to work directly with some federal immigration agencies.

[ ‘We don’t work with ICE:’ Read DeKalb County Sheriff Andy Sullivan’s full public remarks from Monday ]

Sullivan was responding to 12 people who lambasted the actions of ICE agents across the U.S. during a DeKalb County Board Law and Justice committee meeting.

Before the meeting, a group of demonstrators gathered outside to hold a vigil two days after ICE agents fatally shot Minnesota resident Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse who worked at a hospital for veterans.

A similar but larger crowd of mourners gathered in DeKalb earlier this month to remember Renee Good, a Minnesota mother fatally shot by an ICE agent Jan. 7.

The local demonstrations reflect mounting nationwide unrest as President Donald Trump’s administration ramps up an aggressive immigration campaign that’s led to significant protests across the country. The president’s ordering of thousands of immigration officers to mostly Democrat-led cities has prompted outcry from his opposition. And after Saturday’s shooting that killed Pretti, some Republicans have joined the dissent.

Speakers used the meeting’s public comment period to ask local officials how they would react if ICE activity increased in DeKalb County. Speakers appeared mild-mannered but offered pointed questions.

There was nothing immigration-related on the meeting agenda.

Residents, officials speak out

Veronica Garcia-Martinez, a DeKalb teacher and Cortland mom who is challenging incumbent state Rep. Jeff Keicher, R-Sycamore, to represent District 70 in November, was the first to speak.

Garcia-Martinez, a Democrat, said she believes ICE activity around the country is harming students, families and local economies.

“As a teacher, I’m seeing the impacts firsthand,” Garcia-Martinez said. “Students, many of them Latino, are coming to school anxious, distracted or not coming at all.”

She asked county officials to communicate where they would stand if ICE agents conducted operations in town.

“Right now, I can tell you that nobody wants to call the police for help,” Garcia-Martinez said. “We’re going to be losing more and more students out of our schools because they worry that what happens in Minnesota, what’s happening in LA, what’s happening in other parts of the country is going to happen here.”

On Tuesday, Keicher was asked what his reaction was to the news of Pretti’s death and videos captured by witnesses of the shooting.

“I honestly have not had the opportunity to dig down deep,” Keicher said. “My life has been incredibly busy over the past week, and I haven’t paid close enough attention to it to be able to give commentary.”

When asked what he thinks of federal immigration activity across the U.S., Keicher, who wasn’t at Monday’s meeting, kept his response contained to Illinois.

“I trust and am glad that we have the law enforcement in DeKalb County that we do,” Keicher said.

Keicher advocated for the removal of the TRUST Act and said he believes law enforcement should work together on all levels of government.

“The problems we are running into under the TRUST Act is with sometimes violent criminals who are out on our street and have basically a protected status because of the TRUST Act, and we need to change that,” Keicher said. “We need to allow law enforcement to execute on their job of keeping the community safe.”

Republicans on the committee did not respond to public comments during the meeting. Republican Committee Chair Kathy Lampkins declined a request for further comment.

Republican committee member and County Board chair John Frieders asked to speak to Shaw Local after the meeting.

“I was glad to have the sheriff speak tonight, and was very pleased with what he had to say, and just wanted to agree with what he said,” Frieders said.

He said the DeKalb County State’s Attorney’s Office, sheriff’s office and all functions of county government are expected to follow existing laws.

Frieders said he hoped Sullivan’s comments helped quell fears that the sheriff’s office would assist ICE agents if someone called 911 seeking emergency service.

Frieders called Pretti’s fatal shooting “a very unfortunate situation.”

He said he understands that current events coming out of Minnesota can spawn differing opinions. He said he gets why some members of the community are speaking out.

“That’s always very unfortunate when something like that happens,” Frieders said. “I can understand why people get emotional about that. We certainly want to do everything we can here to calm fears in our community and in our county.”

It’s not clear the extent to which federal authorities have carried out immigration enforcement or made arrests in DeKalb County to date.

Beyond the TRUST Act, many area police agencies have told Shaw Local they aren’t often made aware of federal activity before it happens. DeKalb Police Chief David Byrd in October 2025 confirmed that ICE activity was happening in DeKalb, but said he did not know details.

Attorney Chip Chriswell of the DeKalb County Public Defender’s Office, who attended the meeting to give a routine update on his department, thanked everyone who came.

“After this weekend of watching news and social media, it’s nice to hear real community voices and restore my faith in humanity a little bit, so thank you all,” Chriswell said.

Democrat County Board member Ellingsworth Webb, distributed to his fellow committee members a flyer with information for residents regarding their legal rights related to immigration enforcement. When Lampkins asked where he got the information, he said from the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.

Isaac Wilson, of Sycamore, said he believes current federal immigration policy is “morally wrong.”

“I think it’s kind of silly for a community to ask its government to do the right thing, but here we are, we have got to ask them to do the right thing,” Wilson said. “Small towns are having gatherings like this. ... Things are going on right now, people are having a discussion, this is serious.”

Sycamore 4th Ward Alderwoman Virginia Sherrod, who pointed out that she’s the first Black woman elected to the Sycamore City Council, also addressed the committee.

“It just tears my heart out to see innocent people gunned down for no good reason,” Sherrod said. ”Please, please, find it in your hearts to do what we have voted for you to do – is to help each and every citizen in this beautiful county of DeKalb."

Devon Wilcox, of Cortland, spoke on behalf of the DeKalb Area Rapid Response Team. The volunteer organization has chapters across northern Illinois and the suburbs committed to protecting immigrants in the DeKalb area and acting as a watchdog for potential ICE-related activity. He said he’s one of the group’s leaders.

Wilcox asked Sullivan to make a public statement on behalf of his office “in solidarity with the DeKalb County community, regardless of immigration status.” He also asked how Sullivan’s office would respond to further ICE activity if it occurred locally.

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Attendees hold candles Monday, Jan. 26, 2026, during a vigil outside the DeKalb County Legislative Center in Sycamore after second shooting death in Minnesota involving ICE officers. (Mark Busch)

“We are asking the sheriff’s office to put out a public statement reaffirming their commitment to the TRUST Act, and to plainly state that they will not comply with DHS [Department of Homeland Security]-related matters when it comes to civil immigration enforcement,” Wilcox said.

He asked Sullivan to affirm the sheriff’s office’s duty to protect everyone in DeKalb County.

“Further, that they will work to protect DeKalb County residents regardless of their immigration status,” Wilcox said. “I think that will go a long way towards creating a shared sense of solidarity within the community.”

Sullivan spoke for about five minutes off the cuff before giving a routine report on his office to the committee.

Sullivan said his office doesn’t work with ICE, and would only do so if there was a federal criminal warrant involved.

“I want you all to know that we’re here for you,” Sullivan said to the crowd. “We always have been and we always will be. That’s never going to change. The sheriff’s office is here to serve this community, and we’ve always done that and we will continue to do that.”

To read Sheriff Sullivan’s full remarks in response to public concerns voiced by some community members regarding ICE, click here.

This story was updated on Jan. 27, 2026.