Pritzker warns immigration crackdown becoming ‘wider and more intense’

SPRINGFIELD — The federal government’s aggressive immigration enforcement campaign in the Chicago region is now moving at a pace and scale that is “wider and more intense” than in previous weeks, Gov. JB Pritzker warned Thursday.

Pritzker painted a picture of Chicago-area neighborhoods being invaded by masked agents in unmarked vehicles who harass people based on their skin tone and liberally spray tear gas and other chemical agents when confronted with pushback on their aggressive methods. He also poked holes in federal officials’ insistence that enforcement operations are targeting the “worst of the worst.”

“It’s important that all Illinois, in fact, all patriotic Americans, recognize what is happening here in our state because we cannot let this become normalized,” Pritzker told reporters in his Capitol office. “We cannot let the Trump administration’s unlawful behavior or abuse of power slip through the cracks.”

The governor also urged Department of Homeland Security officials to pause operations during the Halloween weekend — a request DHS Secretary Kristi Noem quickly denied.

Meanwhile, state lawmakers — gathered in Springfield for the final day of their fall veto session — closed in on a legislative package that, among other provisions, will allow Illinois residents to sue immigration agents if they violate their constitutional rights.

‘Worst of the worst’

Pritzker took specific aim at the Trump administration’s claim that federal immigration officers are targeting the “worst of the worst” criminals living in the United States without legal authorization. He argued that the characterization does not match what’s happening on the ground in Chicago.

The nation’s third-largest city and its suburbs have been the target of the aggressive immigration enforcement campaign known as “Operation Midway Blitz” since early September. It has resulted in the arrests of more than 1,500 people living in the United States without legal permission, according to DHS.

While region-specific data is not available, more than 71% of the nearly 60,000 immigrants currently detained nationwide have no criminal conviction on their record, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement data. There have been several examples in recent weeks of people without criminal records being swept up in the Chicago region.

“They have targeted families and children, burrito vendors, landscapers, delivery drivers, nannies, U.S. citizens, legal residents and longtime Chicagoans — people who have never broken the law,” Pritzker said.

Pritzker highlighted a few, including the arrests of Moises Enciso Trejo, Constantina Ramírez Meraz and their 22-year-old son during a traffic stop in September. Their 19-year-old daughter and two younger children were left on the side of the road. Though their older son has since been released, the Cicero couple remain in federal custody.

He also spotlighted an incident last weekend in Chicago’s Old Irving Park neighborhood where masked federal agents deployed tear gas to disperse a crowd that responded to the arrest of a 35-year-old construction worker. The clash occurred before the neighborhood’s annual Halloween parade, which organizers subsequently canceled over safety concerns.

“When Kristi Noem says they’re removing the ‘worst of the worst,’ we all wish that is what they were doing,” Pritzker said. “Please, when you find dangerous criminals, remove them. Let’s all work together — federal and state law enforcement — to arrest the bad guys. But instead, it’s become obvious that some of these federal agents and the people in charge of them, well, they are the people that our families should be afraid of.”

Violence has escalated in recent weeks, with prominent clashes between federal agents and protestors outside of an ICE processing facility in Broadview. And, increasingly, masked federal agents have used tear gas and other chemical agents to disperse protesters, including U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino.

Last week, Pritzker announced the formation of the Illinois Accountability Commission charged with creating a public record of abuses by federal agents, documenting the impact on families and communities, and recommending actions for justice and reducing future harm.

Read more: Pritzker forms independent commission to document misconduct of federal agents

Calling it a plea for “basic human decency,” Pritzker requested the feds halt immigration raids during the Halloween weekend. He said, “No child in America should have to go trick-or-treating in fear that they might be confronted with armed federal agents and have to inhale tear gas.”

But Noem quickly rejected the request.

“No, we’re absolutely not willing to put on pause any work that we will do to keep communities safe,” she said during a news conference in Indiana, calling the request “shameful.”

Lawmakers act

In Springfield, state lawmakers are closing in on a comprehensive package addressing the heightened immigration enforcement activities. The proposal was filed Thursday and was expected to receive votes before the legislature wrapped up its fall veto session.

“This bill is a statement on behalf of the legislature to say that what ICE is doing is unacceptable. It is unlawful, they are not following the Constitution,” said state Sen. Celina Villanueva, D-Chicago. “And while they might not follow the Constitution of this country, we will.”

The legislation would allow Illinois residents to sue immigration agents who violate their constitutional right to due process and protection against unreasonable searches and seizures.

They would be able to collect punitive damages, which can be increased if the agents are wearing a mask, concealing their identity, failing to wear a body camera or using a vehicle with a non-Illinois or obscured license plate.

The bill would also prohibit civil immigration arrests inside state courthouses or within a 1,000-foot buffer zone outside the buildings. Such facilities were once generally considered off limits for immigration enforcement. But federal immigration agents have increasingly apprehended people at these sites over the past year.

It also requires public colleges and universities, hospitals and child care facilities to set up policies for dealing with immigration enforcement. Day care providers and public universities would be required to notify parents and campus communities of immigration enforcement activity.

Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, characterized it as “an imperfect bill.” And he acknowledged that lawmakers were “playing with a stacked deck” versus a federal government with the “upper hand” due to the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution.

“I’m prepared for this law to be challenged, but I think we still have an obligation to try to do something,” Harmon said.

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.