DeKalb County Sheriff Andy Sullivan addressed a large crowd gathered at a DeKalb County Board committee meeting on Monday night in Sycamore as residents voiced concerns about federal immigration policy.

At least a dozen residents spoke at a Law and Justice Committee meeting – an advisory group made up of DeKalb County Board members that meets monthly to discuss public safety.

Some asked local law enforcement, including Sullivan, a Republican, to issue public statements or directly address President Donald Trump’s massive ongoing immigration crackdown led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents through the Department of Homeland Security. Like he’s done before, Sullivan pointed to the TRUST Act.

“We don’t work with ICE,” Sullivan said. “We never have – well years in the past, since 2017, we do not. Unless there was a federal criminal warrant, then we would be allowed to work with ICE. But I don’t give them access to our jail. They don’t have access to who’s in our custody. That doesn’t change because I am prohibited by law from doing that, and I have to follow state law.”

ICE action has come under intensified scrutiny in the past few weeks, after federal agents fatally shot two Minnesota residents in separate shootings during demonstrations in Minneapolis organized to oppose the president’s immigration policies.

The DHS’s accounts of how the two residents, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were killed have been contradicted by Minnesota state officials and video clips shared widely.

Over a half-hour period, Sullivan informally responded to questions from about a dozen members of the public. Some voiced concerns related to the potential for violent conflict with ICE agents. Others asked him to clarify publicly his office’s role when it comes to federal law enforcement.

He addressed a question about House Bill 1312, passed in the Illinois legislature in December.

“That is a civil remedy for citizens, the way I understand it, to be able to file lawsuits against the federal government if they believe their rights have been violated,” he said. “It’s not a criminal matter, it is again a civil matter where lawsuits can be filed on that behalf.”

While the interaction was not part of the meeting’s agenda, Sullivan said he wanted to offer responses to multiple points raised.

He spoke off the cuff for more than five minutes.

Cortland resident Devon Wilcox, a vocal participant Monday night, asked Sullivan to issue a statement to local media.

When Sullivan finished speaking, Wilcox said, “Let’s give credit where credit is due,” prompting applause from the crowd.

Read Sullivan’s responses to questions from the public:

”The sheriff’s office does abide by the TRUST Act,” Sullivan said. “We have since 2017, we have not deviated from that. We follow state law, that hasn’t changed, it won’t change. So we do abide by that, we will continue to do so.

As for people being able to call 911, of course, we want people to call 911 when they’re in distress. That’s our job to respond to those calls, we always have and we always will. Nothing has changed within the sheriff’s office or any other law enforcement agency within DeKalb County that I’m aware of. We respond to 911 calls, that’s our job. And for you [a resident] to have that fear, that bothers me because you shouldn’t have that fear. We’re here to help you.

I’ve grown up in DeKalb my entire life, too. I’ve spent the last 29 years of my life serving in this community that I love and call home. I’m proud of that. I love working with this community and will continue to do that. We are here to help.

I actually tried to expand the resources at the sheriff’s office to provide more resources for the citizens to have. Sometimes I don’t get the funding that’s needed to do that, but I always try to get those additional ways that we can help the public. That’s my job, and will continue to do that.

As for the federal government ... I don’t have jurisdiction over the federal government. The state and federal law enforcement agencies is different, and I don’t have jurisdiction over them. However, if someone calls because they are in distress, we are going to respond. The sheriff’s office will come, the city of DeKalb will come, Sycamore, all these municipalities. We’re always going to come take that report and try to help and calm the situation down.

If there was something that is deemed to have potentially happened, we would forward that information on to the appropriate agency for a follow-up investigation. ... That most likely would be the FBI because again, I don’t have the jurisdiction to investigate the federal government. But we could forward that information to them, or the U.S. Attorney’s [General’s] Office who would have that jurisdiction for a follow-up.

And that goes for the same thing. If it was believed that there was a federal crime that had been committed outside of a federal agent’s official capacity, then again that could be forwarded to the FBI for follow-up for potential charging documents, or with the U.S. Attorney’s Office. That’s what comes to my mind.

But I want you all to know that we’re here for you. 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.”

Shaw Local’s Kelsey Rettke contributed.