Illinois passes law to restrict new federal migrant detention centers

By Sean Reed | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – Lawmakers passed a bill last weekend that will heavily restrict where immigration detention centers can operate in Illinois, as a response to the impacts an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility had on the community in the Village of Broadview last year.

The law – if signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker – would prevent the federal government from placing detention centers within 1,500 feet of schools, homes, day cares, parks, forest preserves, homes or places of worship.

It wouldn’t apply retroactively, meaning the ICE detention center in Broadview is there to stay, so long as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s law enforcement agency continues to use the property. Instead, the new measure would prevent the creation of new facilities within most communities of the state.

Earlier in the spring legislative session, House lawmakers passed the measure that was brought by Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, who represents the only district in the state with a federal detention center.

Before it passed the House, Minority Floor Leader Patrick Windhorst, R-Harrisburg, noted a similar law in California faced legal scrutiny because it attempted to overstep federal law and ban all ICE facilities.

“We are continually picking fights with the federal government. We’re working at cross purposes with the federal government, not working with the federal government to resolve the problems that we see in this state,” Windhorst said.

Welch argued that instead of being a sweeping ban on detention centers, his bill solely restricted where one could be built or operated, and a facility could still operate so long as it is far enough away from noted locations.

In the overnight hours of May 31, state Sen. Kimberly Lightford, D-Maywood, brought the measure for a vote in her chamber, where it was promptly approved by the body, with no oppositional questions asked.

She defended the law and said harm to the community and the costs the village incurred as a result of housing the detention center have been troubling.

“Beginning late last year, residents of the village of Broadview woke up to chaos at their door steps. The village of Broadview contains the only detention center in Illinois, and the village contends it has been forced to incur a significant burden and expense as a result,” Lightford said.

In a statement after the Senate passed the measure, state Rep. Aarón Ortíz, D-Chicago, said the measure he backed was a critical new protection for residents of the state.

“This measure is yet another tool in our chest to help us bring order and peace back to our streets. I am thankful that the Senate took up the cause and joined us in making Illinois a defender of our communities by passing this measure,” Ortíz said in the statement.

The measure is headed to Pritzker’s desk, where it may be signed into law soon.