A new set of bills from the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus could mean the days are numbered for the state’s three immigration detention centers.
The Illinois Way Forward Act would end any existing or future agreements between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and local governments to, “house or detain individuals for federal civil immigration violations.”
Celeste Flores from the Mano a Mano Family Resource Center says this a positive step.
“I think as a state, we should not be profiting of the inhumane practices of the immigration detention centers,” said Flores. “And that's going to stop with Illinois Way Forward.”
The new legislation builds off of the 2017 TRUST Act, which made it so that local police could not stop, search or arrest individuals based solely on their immigration status.
The Illinois Way Forward Act would close three detention facilities in McHenry, Pulaski and Kankakee counties beginning January 1, 2022. The bill now awaits a signature from Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker.
- Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco is a current corps member for Report for America, an initiative of the GroundTruth Project which is a national service program that places talented journalists in local newsrooms.
