A program at the Arlington Heights (Ill.) Memorial Library intended to inform undocumented residents about their rights was canceled this week after officials received phone threats, including some callers who suggested that ICE agents might be present at the event.
The immigration rights program, titled "Know Your Rights," was scheduled to include a presentation from the Community Activism Law Alliance at 7 p.m. Monday. But library officials canceled the program after receiving several phone calls from individuals who implied the safety of workshop participants, library patrons and staff was at risk, said Mary Hastings, spokeswoman for the Arlington Heights Memorial Library.
In particular, some callers suggested that they would request agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to show up at the event, library officials said.
"Our top priority is to ensure the safety of attendees at our programs," library officials said in a written statement that was published on the library's website Thursday. "Given the direct and implied threats being made, we did not feel we could adequately ensure that safety, so we made the difficult decision to cancel the program for that reason."
Ed Yohnka, spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, said he was saddened to hear that the "Know Your Rights" program was canceled because of threats.
"Of all the places, a library should be a safe haven," Yohnka said. "The notion that ICE agents could be there shows the kind of ugliness unleashed in this country by forces who blame refugees and immigrants for all of the ills."
Hastings said library management made the decision to cancel the program on Sept. 21, including recently departed executive director Jason Kuhl who made "firm in his communication that the only reason the workshop was canceled was because of the safety issue to participants, customers and staff," she said.
Kuhl resigned suddenly Monday, but library officials have said the program's cancellation was unrelated to his departure, which, they said, was for "personal reasons."
Hastings said library board members also called a special meeting Monday to reaffirm the library's "Vision and Values Statement," which includes a commitment to "cultivate an inclusive atmosphere, celebrate our diversity, and create an environment for the open exchange of differing ideas and points of view."
