Pritzker moves to expand access to welcoming centers for immigrants
Gov. J.B. Pritzker used the suburbs as a backdrop Thursday to sign an executive order requiring scrutiny of how funding for immigrant welcome centers is being spent.
Pritzker also ordered government agencies to begin providing handouts informing immigrants of their rights and available state programs.
"Let their be no doubt Illinois is a welcoming state," Pritzker said at the Family Focus welcoming center for immigrants in Aurora.
Such facilities are "one-stop shops that help people secure health care, education, mental health, jobs, legal services, and so much more," he said.
There are concerns about how and if funds allocated for welcoming centers in the current budget were being used, said Pritzker, who did not elaborate.
"We want to make sure that money is being spent and spent wisely," said Pritzker, a Democrat who succeeded Republican Bruce Rauner Jan. 14.
Pritzker's remarks came amid a battle in Congress on paying for a border wall with Mexico, as well as a court fight over the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that created legal status for migrant children, known as Dreamers, who were brought to the U.S. by their parents.
Ana Nino Flores, an Aurora Dreamer, wiped away tears as she recalled how her parents worked shoveling and mopping to aid her goal of becoming a civil engineer. "DACA has been a key to many doors," she said. "It allowed me get a driver's license ... to support my parents and achieve a sense of belonging. Due to DACA, I now work on impactful transportation projects."