If the incoming Trump administration wants to play hardball with threats of mass deportations, Waukegan officials are ready to even the playing field. They are ready to resist when it comes to the president-elect’s plans. That was made clear at a pre-Christmas week “Immigrants: Know Your Rights” presentation sponsored by the Hispanic American Community Education Services group on Dec. 17 at the Waukegan Public Library. HACES, a non-profit located on the city’s North Side, offers legal services, along with education and health programs for the immigrant community. Mayor Ann Taylor, Police Chief Edgar Navarro, several alders, along with state Rep. Rita Mayfield, D-Waukegan, and state Sen. Adriane Johnson, D-Buffalo Grove, were on hand to show support for the Illinois Trust Act, which bars local police from aiding federal authorities in any deportation attempts. Officials across Lake County have voiced the same measured response to election promises by President-elect Donald Trump of the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history after he takes office on Jan. 20. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, too, has pledged to protect state undocumented residents or those seeking asylum who for many years have lived, worked and paid taxes in the U.S. Untold numbers of illegal residents are in Lake County and the state. Nationally, an estimated 13 million to 14 million lack legal status. Republican Trump has promised to begin deporting undocumented people convicted of crimes soon after Inauguration Day, although it is believed he means “violent crimes” and not speeding tickets. But who knows how far down the chain the new administration’s crackdown will go in attempts to ferret out those living in the U.S. without documentation, such as Green Cards. This was one of his many campaign pledges. This is why county and state officials have been outspoken when it comes to challenging the next Trump administration’s plans for mass deportations involving undocumented county residents. His future “border czar” was in Chicago earlier this month saying these widespread evictions would begin in the Windy City. Trump doubled down on his deportation plan at a conservative gathering in Arizona over the weekend. At last week’s immigrant rights seminar, booklets were distributed detailing services offered for the immigrant population, and listing the dozens of diverse organizations in the Chicago region that provide free immigration legal services, including Catholic Charities, HACES and North Suburban Legal Aid Clinic in Highland Park. Also passed out were wallet-sized cards immigrants can give to federal law enforcement officials — if it comes down to that — outlining the same constitutional rights afforded them as to U.S. citizens: Protection against Fifth Amendment self-incrimination, and unreasonable searches and seizure of property and belongings as protected by the Fourth Amendment. Waukegan police, Navarro underscored, do not arrest, search or detain people based on their immigration status. The department also does not share or provide immigration status information with agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and does not detain residents on behalf of ICE. While fears of what Trump is promising may come true, a report last week pointed out that U.S. deportations of undocumented persons in the last fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, were at their highest level since 2014. The agency’s annual report says 271,484 immigrants were deported to 192 countries during the final year of President Joe Biden’s tenure. According to Reuters News Service, the tally was the highest since Biden took office in 2021 and higher than any year of Trump’s first administration. Democrat Biden took office in 2021 pledging to roll back Trump’s more restrictive immigration policies. Incoming Trump officials say those deportations were a drop in the bucket compared to the high level of illegal immigration during Biden’s term in office. They contend the lax southern border under Biden has caused a national security crisis. Surprisingly, Biden had more deportations by ICE and returns to Mexico by U.S. border authorities in fiscal 2023 than during any Trump year. The most deportations during Trump’s first term, 267,000, was in fiscal year 2019, Reuters reported. Those numbers were fewer than in most years under Trump’s Democrat predecessor, Barack Obama. While deportations rose, the number of ICE arrests of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally dropped by 33% compared with the previous year, the agency said. Reuters said that was attributed to more officers assisting with southern border security operations. Trump and his minions are scheduled to take office in less than a month. Regional and state officials seem prepared for what comes next. Many doubt the deportation threats and widespread roundups of those without U.S. legal status. Still, a good defense makes sense in what could become perilous times for many long-time Illinois families without papers. Charles Selle is a former News-Sun reporter, political editor and editor.  [email protected] X: @sellenews