Cook County commissioners are slated to vote on a measure Thursday that aims to close a loophole which has allowed vendors to sell personal data to immigration enforcement despite the county’s sanctuary policies.
Board President Toni Preckwinkle said the amendment effectively closes a digital back door that ICE and Border Patrol have been using to find immigrants.
Immigrants rights groups have been pushing the county to renegotiate its contract with Appriss that allows the tech company and its parent Equifax to get access to county jail data.
Members of Mijente, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights and others joined commissioners for a press conference supporting the change before it was approved in a committee Wednesday.
Claudia Marchan, head of Immigration Law and Justice of Northern Illinois, says she was alarmed by the detailed LexisNexis report she saw on her and her mixed-status family.
Supporters say the amendment follows federal law and allows ICE to still get criminal warrants for personal information after it shows legal justification.
WBBM has reached out to Equifax for comment.
