SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Illinois Sheriffs Association says 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.
The sheriffs said Tuesday they object to ending the Department of Corrections’ practice of allowing Kankakee County authorities to pick up released immigrants for possible deportation.
Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh says it violates the 2017 Trust Act which bars Illinois police agencies from detaining anyone based on immigration status alone. She says Pritzker is trying to counter President Donald Trump’s “attacks on immigrant communities.”
