Illinois law protects immigrants from arrest near courthouses, hospitals
or colleges
[December 10, 2025]
By JOHN O'CONNOR
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Immigrants living in Illinois, among the states
hit hardest by the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, are now
shielded from federal enforcement near courthouses, hospitals,
university campuses and day cares under a law Democratic Gov. JB
Pritzker signed Tuesday.
The law, which takes effect immediately, also provides legal steps for
people whose constitutional rights were violated during the federal
enforcement action in the Chicago area, including $10,000 in damages for
someone unlawfully arrested while attempting to attend a court
proceeding.
“Dropping your kid off at day care, going to the doctor, or attending
your classes should not be a life-altering task,” Pritzker said at a
bill-signing in the largely Latino Little Village neighborhood in
Chicago. “Illinois — in the face of cruelty and intimidation — has
chosen solidarity and support.”
Critics complain the law will be overturned by the courts.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's “Operation Midway Blitz,"
which appears to have wound down, arrested more than 4,000 people. Data
on those arrested from early September through mid-October showed only
15% had criminal records, with traffic offenses, misdemeanors or
nonviolent felonies comprising the vast majority.
Legislators did not return to session until October and approved the
measure late in the month, sending it to Pritzker, whose staff reviewed
it in the intervening weeks.
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Federal agents are now prohibited from making civil arrests in or
around courthouses of a person attending certain legal proceedings,
and the law provides for $10,000 in fines for the arrest of someone
the officer should have known was attending a court hearing. It
prevents the release of private medical records by hospitals, blocks
universities from taking certain actions regarding the immigration
status of students or employees and precludes day cares from sharing
such status information.
Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland
Security, said of Pritzker, “He must be unfamiliar with the U.S.
Constitution,” the Supremacy Clause of which declares that federal
law cannot be superseded.
“We hope the headlines, social media likes, and fundraising emails
he did this for are worth it,” McLaughlin said.
When the Legislature approved the plan, state Senate President Don
Harmon, a Democrat, acknowledged critics' complaints that it would
face a legal challenge. He said he believes it's constitutional but
said the Trump administration could try to find a friendly court to
overturn it.
“There is no badge, no title, no mask that puts anyone above the
Constitution,” Harmon said Tuesday. “This law sends the message that
if you abuse your authority, there are consequences."
Linda Tortolero, head of the advocacy group Latino Policy Forum,
said the new law shows how "in Illinois, we stand by immigrant
families, democracy, and civil rights.”
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