Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office Explicitly Prohibits Data Sharing to Protect Immigrant Communities

CHICAGO – After seeing an increase in deportations from federal immigration agents, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office is becoming one of the first jurisdictions in the country to explicitly prohibit its vendors from sharing data that may end up in the hands of ICE and other federal immigration enforcement agencies.

New revisions to a contract with Appriss Inc., the vendor used to facilitate statutorily mandated victim notifications, explicitly prohibits the company from disclosing any personal data with federal law enforcement officials or third-party databases that may be used to support immigration enforcement.

Under the terms of the revised contract, which is effective now, Appriss must take steps to prevent any party it contracts with from being able to access or purchase personal information of individuals held in the Cook County Jail. In August, the CCSAO required Appriss to turn off the data feed supplying this information to third parties.

The changes come as ICE continues to target courthouses as part of its aggressive immigration enforcement campaign. Over the past year, ICE agents have been repeatedly spotted at Cook County courthouses, including the Domestic Violence Courthouse, the Leighton Criminal Courthouse, and the Markham Courthouse. Agents have made arrests on courthouse property and, in other instances, appear to have waited for individuals to leave court proceedings before taking them into custody.

"Everyone participating in the justice system – regardless of immigration status – should be able to trust that their personal information will be protected,” said State’s Attorney Eileen Burke. “We will continue to stand up for our immigrant communities and try to reduce the harm that’s been caused by ICE’s reckless actions. When victims, witnesses, and defendants are afraid to come to court, it undermines our ability to seek justice and keep our communities safe.”

A coalition of organizations invested in this effort issued the following statement on the new Appriss contract.

“Today, we celebrate a hard-won victory for the privacy and safety of Cook County residents,” said the coalition, which includes Mijente, Organized Communities against Deportations, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, and Just Futures Law. “Companies hired to serve our communities should not be allowed to turn around and profit by selling our information to ICE and the Trump administration. This change happened because community organizations uncovered how the Appriss contract could allow local information to reach ICE, and demanded that elected officials take action."

“After years of advocacy, dangerous language that allowed the sharing of personal information will finally be removed from the Appriss contract,” said Cook County Commissioner Alma Anaya. “This issue has highlighted how agencies are circumventing local laws to access sensitive information. As a Commissioner, I call upon other county agencies to join our collective push to close loopholes and uphold our value of being a welcoming county for all.”

Appriss provides legally required notifications to crime victims when an offender has been released from custody. Concerns over Appriss’ relationships with its other customers, which include U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and LexisNexis Risk Solutions, have spurred longstanding concerns over the company’s data sharing practices since at least 2022.  

Under Burke’s direction, the CCSAO updated its contract with Appriss to prohibit any data sharing with ICE in October 2025. The latest revision adds an additional layer of protection by requiring Appriss to cease all data sharing – including with databases such as LexisNexis Risk Solutions – that may themselves sell private information to federal agencies.

State’s Attorney Burke and the CCSAO remain committed to protecting immigrant communities and upholding the public trust in the criminal justice system. In addition to supporting law enforcement investigations into federal agents and pursuing charges when possible, the CCSAO supports residents by:

• Protecting victims of crime from deportation by certifying applications for U-Visas for victims.
• Preventing ICE encounters at courthouses by facilitating virtual meetings with CCSAO personnel whenever possible.
• Upholding Illinois law, including the TRUST Act, which prohibits cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
• Serving all victims of crime, regardless of immigration status. The CCSAO will never inquire about immigration status when pursuing justice.
• Providing second language support through the Victim Services Bureau.

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