Some Felons Who Faced Deportation Being Released Into Illinois Communities

The Illinois Sheriffs' Association said Tuesday that some violent felons who had faced deportation are instead being released into local communities after their prison terms end as a result of a policy change by Gov. J.B. Pritzker's administration.

Sheriffs Mike Downey of Kankakee County and Tony Childress of Livingston County, representing the statewide law enforcement group, told reporters at the state Capitol that the Illinois Department of Corrections has stopped coordinating the transfer to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement of released inmates who are in the country illegally. Downey said it's akin to giving the ex-inmates a “head start to evade federal law."

“It's alarming to think that because of a change in policy that suddenly these types of individuals might be walking the streets and we might not even be aware of it," said Sen. Jason Barickman of Bloomington, one of several GOP lawmakers to sign a letter seeking legislative hearings. “We're here to first of all call on the administration to reverse this reckless policy and ensure the public that they're safe.”

But an immigration expert said the practice violates the state Trust Act, the 2017 law that limits local law enforcement agencies' cooperation with federal immigration officials.

The sheriffs' concerns came just days after the Trump administration announced the unusual step of dispatching Customs and Border Patrol Agents to interior locales such as Chicago and other “sanctuary cities" which have set up impediments to customs enforcement.

Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh called the policy switch a “pause” in Corrections' interactions with ICE while Pritzker's staff reviews it and other procedures.