Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) on Tuesday signed into law a slate of measures that seek to limit immigration enforcement in the state as he pushes back on an aggressive federal campaign of mass deportations.
The new law follows months of tension between state officials and President Donald Trump’s immigration authorities after the administration made Chicago a focal point of its crackdown.
“With my signature today, we are protecting people and institutions that belong here in Illinois. Dropping your kid off at day care, going to the doctor, or attending your classes should not be a life-altering task,” Pritzker said in a news release. “Illinois — in the face of cruelty and intimidation — has chosen solidarity and support.”
The bill, signed in Chicago’s predominantly Latino Little Village neighborhood, extends protections for immigrant families and others impacted by federal immigration enforcement. It bans civil immigration arrests at state courthouses or within 1,000 feet of those facilities, and restricts what information Illinois hospitals, childcare centers and colleges can share with immigration authorities.
The law also makes it easier for those who believe their rights were violated to sue immigration officers.
During “Operation Midway Blitz,” which has scaled back since it began in September, immigration officers conducted large-scale raids in and around Chicago in what the Trump administration framed as crackdown on crime. They’ve arrested thousands of people — including many without criminal records— and deployed tear gas and helicopters in densely populated neighborhoods. Local leaders have denounced the tactics as heavy-handed and destabilizing to communities already living in fear.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment from The Washington Post about the new Illinois law.
The statute underscores a broader effort by Democratic-led states and cities to insulate immigrant communities from federal enforcement as detentions surge nationwide. In Minneapolis, where DHS recently launched “Operation Metro Surge” targeting the city’s Somali residents, Mayor Jacob Frey (D) signed an executive order barring the agency from using city-owned spaces — such as parking lots or garages — for enforcement operations.
In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) also signed a package of laws in September aimed at curbing how U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agents operate in the state. The changes include a first-in-the-nation ban on officers wearing masks while on duty and new restrictions barring enforcement in sensitive locations, such as schools and hospitals, without a judicial warrant. The legislation came after a summer of sweeping immigration raids in Southern California, including in Los Angeles.
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