Lilly Legislation to Protect Immigrant Families Signed into Law

SPRINGFIELD, Ill.  – Legislation sponsored by state Rep. Camille Y. Lilly, D-Chicago, to protect immigrant families and prioritize local law enforcement needs was recently signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

“Unlike the administration in Washington, Illinois is focused on protecting families and keeping them together,” Lilly said. “This measure will help keep families together and allow Illinois law enforcement to focus on local needs, such as reducing gun violence.”

Lilly sponsored House Bill 1637, the Keep Illinois Families Together Act, which bars law enforcement agencies in Illinois from participating in the federal 287(g) program, which delegates federal immigration enforcement to state and local law enforcement agencies. Research by the Police Foundation, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to improving policing, has found that local law enforcement participation in the 287(g) program undermines relationships between communities and police departments, leads to increased incidents of racial profiling, and diverts local law enforcement resources from priorities such as combatting violent crime. Lilly’s measure will help ensure that local law enforcement dollars in Illinois are spent on local needs and that police departments in Illinois are not being used to break up families due to their status as immigrants.

“Illinois must remain an inclusive and welcoming state that opens its doors to families of all kinds,” Lilly said. “Immigrant families shouldn’t have to live in fear that they will be broken up by police and no family should have to worry that their local police department isn’t focused on combatting violent crime and responding to local needs because they are diverting resources to tear apart immigrant families.”