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Illinois Enacts Immigrant Safeguards, Limiting Courthouse Arrests and Expanding Privacy Protections

Pritzker says the measures protect access to courts by limiting civil immigration arrests.

Overview

  • Pritzker signed a slate of bills that require hospitals, schools and childcare centers to safeguard immigration-status information and prepare for enforcement encounters.
  • One new law prohibits civil immigration arrests at court hearings and within court buildings in Illinois.
  • The package authorizes civil lawsuits against law enforcement officers who violate Illinois or U.S. constitutional rights.
  • The action follows Operation Midway Blitz, a two‑and‑a‑half‑month ICE and CBP operation in the Chicago area that resulted in thousands of arrests.
  • The signing comes after an executive order creating a commission to record alleged civil rights abuses, as Republican critics warn the laws could obstruct federal enforcement.