State Representative Chris Miller (R-Oakland), joined members of law enforcement and colleagues in the General Assembly to criticize a new policy by the Pritzker Administration that ends communications between the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) when inmates are released from prison.
“I am deeply disturbed the administration believes it is good for public safety to release illegal immigrants convicted of violent crimes,” Rep. Miller said. “These are not good people. These are the same people from whom President Trump is working to protect us; the rapists, the murderers, and child pornographers.”
Until January 30, 2020, non-citizens completed their prison terms and were turned over to federal immigration authorities where their immigration status is reviewed and adjudicated by a federal judge. The policy change allows these non-citizens to be released into communities without notification.
In 2019, 223 inmates were transferred to the Jerome Combs Detention Center in Kankakee after serving time at an IDOC facility for their felony convictions. This occurred via a notification from IDOC at the request of ICE. Starting in January 2020, IDOC stopped notifying federal authorities and instead allowed these individuals to be released immediately from the correctional facility into Illinois communities where they had been serving their sentences.
“In Governor Pritzker’s attempt to ‘stick it to President Trump’ he is endangering Illinois families and law enforcement. I strongly encourage the governor to reconsider this reckless policy.”