Amid partial DHS shutdown, Illinois remains on edge over ICE coming back
Even with the Department of Homeland Security partially shut down and aggressive immigration campaigns apparently on hold, state and Chicago leaders are looking for ways to ensure safer policing, accountability and transparency in immigration enforcement.
The White House and Democratic leaders missed a Feb. 14 deadline to fund DHS, as Democrats sought revisions to immigration enforcement after the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good last month in Minneapolis. Democrats published a list of 10 demands to “rein in” ICE, including requiring agents to wear identification, obtain judicial warrants to enter private property and stop wearing masks.
At the Statehouse, meanwhile, Gov. JB Pritzker continues to emphasize the state’s role in dealing with the federal government’s immigration enforcement.
In his State of the State address Feb. 18, the governor called Illinois “the canary in the coal mine for what we saw happen in Minnesota,” and he called on Illinoisans to counter Trump’s immigration crackdown with love, kindness and empathy.
“Masked, unaccountable federal agents — with little training — occupied our streets, brutalized our people, tear gassed kids and cops, kidnapped parents in front of their children, detained and arrested and at times attempted to deport US citizens, and killed innocent Americans in the streets,” he said.
Illinois senators are pushing for a bill, titled the Prohibited Hiring of Federal Immigration Officers Act, that would ban law enforcement agencies in Illinois from hiring individuals who served as federal immigration officers for the U.S. Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement between Jan. 20, 2025, and Jan. 20, 2029.
A statewide accountability commission continues to document alleged wrongdoings by immigration agents ahead of an April report to the governor’s office. And the city of Chicago hopes to strengthen its Welcoming City Ordinance, as the federal government threatens to withhold funding to jurisdictions that don’t cooperate on immigration enforcement.
ICE hiring bill
State Sen. Laura Fine is carrying the bill to ban the state from hiring ICE agents serving during the current Trump administration. The legislation is awaiting a substantial committee assignment.
“Our officers here in Illinois are trained in de-escalation. They're trained in mental health training,” said Fine, a Democrat from Glenview running in the crowded primary for the 9th District seat in Congress. “The officers that we're seeing, I say officers in a very loose way, coming from ICE, are completely different.”
Officers in Illinois must complete a 16-week, 640-hour basic law enforcement course before they are authorized to work. It includes receiving at least 70% on weekly tests and the final state certification exam and passing a comprehensive examination administered by the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board.
ICE officers used to have to complete a five-month training but now, under the Trump administration, the required training has been shortened to 47 days.
Illinois Republicans have expressed concerns about the bill, describing it as an attack on law enforcement.
“This bill is nothing more than a political stunt to undermine the duties of federal officers who risk their lives to protect American citizens,” state Rep. Chris Miller of downstate Oakland said in a statement.
In December, Pritzker signed legislation allowing Illinois residents to sue immigration agents who arrest them in or near courthouses or if they believe their constitutional rights were violated.
ICE arrests in Illinois
More than 4,000 people were arrested by ICE in Illinois last year, according to data from DHS, and more than 1,500 of those arrests were a part of Operation Midway Blitz. The majority of those arrested did not have a criminal charge or conviction, according to government data.
The Chicago Sun-Times has reported that up to 1,000 agents — or four times the number who were here in the fall — could return in March.
Welcoming City Ordinance
Thee Chicago Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights and the Committee on Police and Fire voted 19-3 in January to revise an ordinance and allow the Civilian Office of Police Accountability to investigate complaints about the Chicago Police Department’s alleged cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. The revision is awaiting approval by the city council before it goes into effect.
The Welcoming City Ordinance, which was passed in July 2012 under Mayor Rahm Emanuel, is intended to protect undocumented residents by restricting employee cooperation with ICE, preventing inquiries into immigration status and limiting holding of people on ICE detainer requests.
“This is an opportunity to continue to do the work from within for more than two years to restore trust between residents and police officers,” Ald. Jesse Fuentes of the 26th Ward said. “This administrative adjustment allows us to do just that.”
Interim Chief Administrator LaKenya White said 40 complaints had been filed about CPD’s interactions with ICE since federal agents arrived in the city last year. But the Civilian Office of Police Accountability did not have the ability under the Welcoming City Ordinance to investigate complaints about potential violations.
According to Fuentes, the proposal fixes that “administrative error” and expand COPA’s investigative abilities.