The Illinois House voted 62-49, with 7 abstentions, to forbid local law enforcement from complying with unconstitutional detention requests from the federal immigration agency. If signed into law, the TRUST Act (SB-31) will be the strongest state-level legal protection in the nation creating a clear distinction between the work of local police and federal immigration agents.
“This is a huge victory for the people of Illinois, and we’re thankful that the General Assembly listened to the community and chose TRUST over President Trump’s hateful immigration policies,” said Tuyet Le, executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago and member of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, co-convening organizations of the Campaign for a Welcoming Illinois. “Community members made over 1,000 calls to House members and the governor in support of TRUST this week, and we’re going to keep pushing until it becomes law here in Illinois.”
The Illinois TRUST Act will forbid local police from holding people for immigration purposes without court-ordered warrants and forbid local police from stopping, searching or arresting anyone based on their immigration or citizenship status.
“I feel safer and more confident in my community when I know interacting with law enforcement won’t hurt my family, friends and local businesses,” said Estela Vara, a community leader from P.A.S.O - West Suburban Action Project, a member organization of the steering committee for the Campaign for a Welcoming Illinois. “Immigrants are Illinoisans too, and we deserve protection and just policies to keep us safe. I am proud to support the Campaign for a Welcoming Illinois.”
“By passing this law, our state leaders are showing the nation that Illinois believes in upholding constitutional rights for everyone,” said Mark Fleming, national litigation coordinator for the National Immigrant Justice Center. “Immigrants are welcome here, and all of our state’s residents should be able to go about their lives, run their businesses, raise their families, and reach out for help from the police without fear that they may be exiled from their homes.”
Co-sponsored by Representatives Lisa Hernandez (D-24) and Emanuel Chris Welch (D-7), SB-31 is expected to pass the Senate this week, then head to Governor Bruce Rauner’s desk for his signature or veto.
"The nation is watching Illinois today, and I’m so proud to support the strongest statewide safeguard in our country for our immigrant communities, who now more than ever need to be able to safely go about their daily lives without risk of deportation,” Representative Hernandez said. “The anti-immigrant rhetoric of Donald Trump must be addressed, so I urge Gov. Rauner to sign the TRUST Act and reassure our community that Illinois does not tolerate hate.”
“Illinois stands with immigrant communities. In response to attacks against our communities of color, we came together with organizations and individuals to work on a statewide solution to make our communities safer,” said Representative Welch. “The TRUST Act ensures that a person’s immigration status does not place them at risk of being turned over to immigration authorities. We are proud to send a bill to Gov. Rauner that reflects his statement this spring addressing the need for welcoming policies in Illinois and we urge him to sign SB-31 into law.”
The Campaign for a Welcoming Illinois is committed to bringing some of the original TRUST Act provisions which did not reach final approval in the General Assembly back in 2018.
Thank you to all of the organizations who supported the Campaign for a Welcoming Illinois and passing the TRUST Act:
Access Living, ACLU of Illinois, American Immigration Lawyers Association - Chicago Chapter, Arab American Action Network, Arab American Family Services,Asian Americans Advancing Justice |Chicago, Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, Centro de Trabajadores Unidos, Centro Romero, Champaign Urbana Immigration Forum, Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, Chicago Federation of Labor, Chicago Legal Clinic, Chicago Metropolitan Battered Women’s Network, Chicago Religious Leadership Network, Chicago Teachers Union, Chinese Mutual Aid Association, Communities United, Community of Congregations, Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago, Erie Neighborhood House, Faith Coalition for the Common Good, Family Focus Aurora, Federación de Clubes Michoacanos en Illinois, Federación de Hidalguenses en Illinois, Federación Internacional de Morelenses, Fedenaymo Nayaritas at Midwest, Gamaliel of IL/Iowa, Gamaliel of Metro Chicago, Grassroots Collaborative, Hana Center, Hanul Family Alliance, Heartland Alliance's National Immigrant Justice Center, Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois, Illinois AFL-CIO, Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, Illinois Women's March on Springfield, Indo-American Center, Instituto del Progreso Latino, Interfaith Leadership Project, Jewish Council of Urban Affairs, Latino Policy Forum, Latino Organization of the South, Life Span Center for Legal Services and Advocacy, Logan Square Neighborhood Association, Mano-A-Mano Family Resource Center, Mayor’s Office of the City of Chicago, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Mujeres Latinas en Accion, National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Illinois Chapter, North Suburban Teachers Union, Northern Illinois Justice for Our Neighbors, Office of the Cook County Sheriff, Office of the Cook County State’s Attorney, Office of the Illinois Attorney General, PASO (West Suburban Action Project), Peoria No Ban No Wall, Project Irene, Protected By Faith, Quad Cities Interfaith, Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, SEIU Healthcare Illinois/Indiana, Southwest Organizing Project, Southwest Suburban Immigrant Project, The Resurrection Project, UNITE HERE Local 1, United Congregations of Metro East, United Congress of Community and Religious Organizations, Women's March on Chicago