Illinois is now the first state in the nation to ban private immigration detention facilities. “In the face of attempts to stoke fear, exploit division, and force families into the shadows, we are taking action,” Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker said in a statement. “We will not allow private entities to profit off of the intolerance of this president.”
The governor also signed two other important pieces of legislation that will be huge steps toward protecting the lives of undocumented residents. One bill now “statutorily prohibits” local police from participating in the flawed 287(g) Program, which deputizes “selected state and local law enforcement officers to perform the functions of federal immigration agents.” A second bill allows undocumented youth, many of whom already pay taxes through participation in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and everyday purchases, to access state financial aid.
Each of these bills stands on its own, and combined they represent a blueprint for other states to follow. “The private-prison industry as a whole is benefiting from Trump's border policies,” CNN reports. “But those lucrative business opportunities are also drawing increased public and legal scrutiny of a system that, advocates charge, treats detainees cruelly.”
Daily Kos’ Huiying Chan wrote in March that “JPMorgan Chase was a major funder of GEO Group and CoreCivic, the biggest operators of both private prisons and immigrant detention centers in the United States.” Following pressure from grassroots and national organizations, JPMorgan Chase announced it would sever ties with them.
The governor’s signatures came as the Trump administration threatened a number of U.S. cities with Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. Those raids may have been called off, but ICE is still here, and immigrants still need protections. "Illinois is and always will be a welcoming state,“ said Pritzker. “Let me be perfectly clear: the state of Illinois stands as a firewall against Donald Trump's attacks on our immigrant communities.”
