Immigration and Customs Enforcement have stepped up operations targeting Chicago-area courthouses and jails.

local affiliate WGN has obtained video that shows the Trump Administration’s increased efforts plus the confrontations – and concern – that come from these encounters.

In mid-July, Chicago’s western suburbs, a man who had been arrested for speeding while driving on a suspended license was released from the Kane County jail.

What he didn’t know was ICE agents were waiting in the lobby.

They had apparently compared the publicly available court docket with their immigration arrest list.

 After a short debate, it turned physical and one officer was allegedly bit during the takedown.

“We know they’re releasing public safety threats back in the community every day. We’re going to go where the biggest problems are. The biggest problems are sanctuary cities,” Trump Administration border czar Tom Homan said.

Outside of Chicago’s largest criminal courthouse Tuesday, there was an unmissable ICE presence. A gents drove off when the WGN News photographer took notice.

“It really creates this atmosphere of fear and uncertainty and incentivizes people not to show up for court,” Cook County public defender Sharone Mitchell, Jr. said.

Mitchell says the presence of immigration agents at local courthouses has a chilling effect on the judicial system for victims, witnesses and the accused.

“If you care about public safety you want everyone to be there right,” she said. “The entire legal system is based on this idea that we come together in court and we figure this thing out.  That’s literally how courts function.”

In the western suburbs, suspected ICE agents have been known to stake out the jail lobby waiting for people on their lists to be released.

Video obtained by WGN Investigates shows agents surround a man and his family as they leave.

Sheriff Ron Hain says it’s a recipe for danger for everyone involved.

“I’m very concerned that someday, someone is going to be harmed with the inability to communicate and the ICE agents trending toward a clandestine approach,” he said.

“We’re prioritizing public safety trusts and national security threats,” Homan said. :We’re not out sweeping neighborhoods. We’re not outlooking for non-criminals. Now, if we run into a non-criminal during these operations, they’re absolutely going to be taken in custody.”

State law says police and jailers can only facilitate a hand-off if ICE agents get a criminal warrant and cops can only get involved if law enforcements agents are in immediate physical danger.

The White House isn’t shy about trumpeting alleged criminals in its crosshairs during the current crackdown. But national numbers show 70-percent of people currently in ice custody don’t have a criminal conviction, according to Trac Reports data.

As for the increased ICE presence inside and outside local courthouses, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker says, “To attack them in the very place where they are trying to follow the law seems to me like the world is upside down.”

Illinois’ Trust Act which prevents police from cooperating with immigration was signed by a republican governor.

The theory is if people fear any interaction with police could result in their detention and deportation they won’t report crime, cooperate if they’re a witness or trust police to help them when they’re in need.