Expressing strong concerns about recent federal data that shows thousands of non-citizens who have crossed into the United States are charged with serious crimes, four State Senators are calling on state and federal leaders to address the impact of this looming threat on the safety of Illinoisans.
State Sen. Jil Tracy (R-Quincy), State Sen. Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet), State Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Cherry Valley), and State Sen. Craig Wilcox (R-McHenry) are sending a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, demanding to know how many of the non-citizens charged with serious crimes might be in Illinois.
A United States Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) report shows 662,000 non-citizens with criminal history or charges are currently in the United States: 435,000 convicted criminals, and 226,000 with pending criminal charges.
Sen. Tracy says Illinois has become a hotspot for illegal immigrants because of Gov. JB Pritzker’s determination to make Illinois THE destination state for non-citizens.
“Shortly after taking office, Gov. Pritzker proudly proclaimed, ‘Let there be no doubt that Illinois is a welcoming state.’ He has used taxpayer-funded resources to create programs like free healthcare for migrants and illegal immigrants in Illinois,” Sen. Tracy said. “Yet, we currently have Illinois veterans and citizens living with disabilities who struggle to find adequate services. Hard-working Illinois families are struggling to pay their bills.”
Sen. Tracy also notes that Gov. Pritzker has pushed for legislation to make it harder to deal with criminals who are here illegally.
“Thanks to the TRUST Act, if police in Illinois pick up someone wanted by ICE for a conviction or pending charges, they CAN’T communicate or coordinate with ICE officials to transfer them into federal custody. We have literally tied the hands of our own law enforcement, so they are unable to get criminals out of our country,” Sen. Tracy said. “What if someone here illegally commits a serious crime in western Illinois? They will serve their term and be released right back here, and no one in our criminal justice system is even allowed to communicate with federal authorities, preventing that person’s deportation. How insane is this?”
In contrast, Republican lawmakers have sponsored legislation to repeal the TRUST Act, to scale back the TRUST Act to empower law enforcement, but Gov. Pritzker and his allies have no interest in improving laws to protect the people they are supposed to be serving.
“Here is the reality we live in. We have a large, unknown number of non-citizens here with violent criminal convictions or pending charges, and we can’t even do anything about it,” Sen. Tracy said. “These crimes have victims. How many of them are in Illinois? How many of the non-citizens convicted of crimes have been detained locally in Illinois, only to be released? How many of them with pending charges won’t see their trial because they were released here? These are questions that must be answered.”
***Courtesy of Illinois State Senator Jil Tracy***
