U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced in July 2026 that it will pursue criminal charges against Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart if he fails to obey four subpoenas that call for the handover of detainees held at the Cook County Jail to federal immigration authorities. The warning, issued by ICE officials, links non‑compliance with the possibility of a criminal prosecution against the sheriff.
The four subpoenas require the sheriff’s department to transfer individuals currently in custody at the county jail so that they can be placed under the jurisdiction of ICE. Those detainees are being held for local matters but are also subject to federal immigration enforcement, prompting ICE to seek their custody through the legal process.
Sheriff Tom Dart’s office has declined to act on the subpoenas, and spokesman Matt Walberg confirmed that the department continues to resist ICE’s demands. The sheriff’s office has previously indicated that it will not surrender detainees without a court order, maintaining its position against the federal requests.
ICE’s effort is part of a larger trend in which federal immigration officials have issued subpoenas to state and local jurisdictions nationwide to obtain custody of immigration detainees. Some jurisdictions have complied, while others have challenged the subpoenas in court or refused to cooperate, creating a patchwork of responses across the country.
Should ICE move forward with criminal charges, the case could establish a new precedent for federal action against local officials who refuse to transfer immigration detainees. The prospect of prosecution adds additional pressure on jurisdictions that have so far resisted similar subpoenas and may influence future interactions between federal immigration authorities and local law‑enforcement agencies.