Illinois lawmakers approve ban on immigration arrests near courthouses
[November 01, 2025]
By JOHN O'CONNOR
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Illinois lawmakers have sent Gov. JB Pritzker
legislation prohibiting federal authorities from making immigration
arrests near courthouses, but even one of the measure's top sponsors
questions whether it can survive a court challenge.
The proposal adopted early Friday also allows lawsuits when people
believe their constitutional rights have been violated during civil
immigration arrests.
The legislation imposes civil damages for false imprisonment when
someone attending a court hearing or appearing as a party or witness to
a legal proceeding is arrested. Proponents say courts must be accessible
to everyone to pursue remedies to violations of their rights.
Democratic Senate President Don Harmon, a lead sponsor, acknowledged the
measure will face a court challenge.
“It’s not just about the constitutionality of the law, which I think is
sound, but it’s the reality that the courts are stacked against us,”
Harmon said. “The federal government can try to remove it from state
courts to federal courts. They can try to substitute the government
itself for the individual defendants, but that’s not a reason not to
try.”
Pritzker, a Democrat, supports the idea and will review the plan when it
reaches his desk, spokesperson Matt Hill said.
Two weeks ago, the top judge in Cook County, home to Chicago, issued an
order with the same prohibition. It's unclear whether the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security has followed the dictum, but at the
time, federal officials dismissed it, saying “there are no legal
sanctuaries where you can hide and avoid the consequences for breaking
the law.”
The Trump administration's immigration enforcement, which began two
months ago in Chicago and its suburbs, is intended to round up migrants
living in the country illegally, particularly those with criminal
records. But witnesses have reported repeated incidents in which
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers detain people regardless of
citizenship or legal status.
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Protesters gather outside an ICE processing facility in Broadview,
Ill, a suburb of Chicago, Friday, Oct. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y.
Huh)
“No one should have to choose between seeking justice and risking
their freedom,” said co-sponsoring Sen. Celina Villanueva.
“Courthouses must be places where people can resolve disputes,
testify and support loved ones, not sites of fear or intimidation."
The legislation, approved largely along party lines, also requires
hospitals, day care centers and higher education institutions to
create policies delineating how they would handle immigration agents
inside their facilities.
Other states have taken similar action or otherwise adopted
practices to protect immigrants. California has limited immigration
enforcement action in courthouses since 2017. Guidance published by
California Attorney General Rob Bonta says the state can't control
federal immigration action, but “the state has a responsibility to
provide safe and secure access to court facilities to all residents
regardless of immigration status.”
In September, Connecticut Supreme Court Chief Justice Raheem Mullins
issued a policy prohibiting warrantless arrests inside state courts,
as well as banning the use in judicial buildings of face coverings,
routinely worn by ICE officers.
“Judges, staff, litigants, members of the public, they all must be
able to conduct their business in our courthouses without fear of
disruption," Mullins said.
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