Illinois Governor JB Pritzker (D) signed a bill that prevents U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from arresting illegal aliens outside or near the state’s courthouses.
Pritzker’s signing of the bill comes after Illinois lawmakers passed the bill during the government shutdown, according to the New York Times. Under the bill, places like hospitals and daycare centers cannot share certain information with ICE agents.
While the legislation was praised by Democratic lawmakers in the state, Republicans in the state, such as Illinois state Sen. John Curran (R), took “issue with the law’s ban on civil immigration enforcement in state courts or within 1,000 feet of those courts,” according to the outlet.
“We’re pushing this more and more, with these bans, into uncontrolled settings,” Curran said. “And with uncontrolled settings, the risks increase.”
On Tuesday, during the press conference for the signing of the bill, Pritzker claimed that “the Chicago region has been subjected to a relentless campaign of cruelty, intimidation, and abuse by ICE” under the Trump administration.
“Over the past few months, the Chicago region has been subjected to a relentless campaign of cruelty, intimidation and abuse by ICE and Border Patrol agents under the command of President Trump and condoned by the Republican Congress,” Pritzker said. “Our people have been forced to live in fear, daily activities such as taking children to school, going to the park with the family, going to the doctor, showing up for work have meant putting their safety and livelihood at risk.”
Breitbart News’ Lowell Cauffiel reported in November, after Illinois lawmakers passed the bill, that it “will also allow Illinois residents to bring lawsuits against officers who they say violated their constitutional rights.”
Pritzker’s signing of the bill comes as other states, such as California and Connecticut, have adopted similar measures “that attempt to prevent court arrests of illegal immigrants.”
