Immigrant files lawsuit claiming Will County Sheriff's Office violated Illinois sanctuary laws

WILL COUNTY, Ill. (WLS) -- A man has filed a civil rights lawsuit, accusing the Will County Sheriff's Office and a deputy of violating Illinois sanctuary laws by keeping an immigrant behind bars for two months without justification.

Attorneys for Norberto Navarro say deputies locked him up to pressure him to testify in a trial about a deadly crash.

A rally was held Thursday on behalf of Navarro, who now has his freedom back but also wants justice.

"Today, our message is clear: An attack on one is an attack on all," said Linda Brito, with Centro de Trabajadores Unidos.

The Calumet City man filed a lawsuit Thursday after claiming that he was held for more than two months by suburban authorities. He is accusing the Will County Sheriff's Office, along with a sheriff's deputy and an officer there, of unlawfully detaining him.

The 20-page federal civil lawsuit claims that the Will County officials violated the Illinois Trust Act and the Illinois Way Forward Act, a state sanctuary law that prohibits local government entities from entering into agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Navarro has a green card and has been a legal permanent resident since entering the United States in 1999 at 8 years old.

"It's not enough to simply (make) a law and then forget about it. We must enforce this act," said Ubaldo Aguilar, with Centro de Trabajadores Unidos.

Supporters say Navarro had agreed to testify as a witness in the trial in the 2017 fatal crash near Beecher, Illinois that killed a pregnant woman and her three young sons.

Navarro's lawyer confirms he had been detained, and had been placed in deportation proceedings in 2021 after a drug-related criminal conviction in Texas.

On Jan. 20, he was transferred from ICE custody to Illinois in order to take the stand.

"It used a state law intended for witnesses who refused to testify to circumvent Illinois' sanctuary laws," said Navarro's attorney, Nicole Hallett.

The Will County State's Attorney's Office did not immediate respond to requests for comment.

Navarro was released a day after he testified at the Beecher trial and was able to go home.

Through a translator, his mother said her son's been traumatized by the ordeal.

"They had him shower in cold water, and would not feed him," said Navarro's mother, Aida Navarro.

Navarro is seeking an unspecified amount of monetary damages and wants a jury trial.

ABC7 Chicago has reached out to the Will County State's Attorney's Office, who responded by saying it will not comment on pending litigation.