The utilization of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been more substantial with the election of Donald Trump in the executive office this past January. Throughout the country, public opposition to this has been strong due to the procedures ICE carries out on those suspected of living in America without a valid citizenship. This has left many cities and towns to have their own policies regarding what ICE can and cannot do, including Downers Grove.
According to downers.us from an article titled Village of Downers Grove Statement on Immigration Enforcement, Downers Grove implemented the TRUST Act September 17. This act prohibits local police from engaging in any immigration enforcement pursuits. The post states, ”The Village of Downers Grove Police Department is committed to serving and protecting every member of our community. Our priority is public safety and building trust with all who live, work, and visit Downers Grove.”
Similar actions have been taken at the buildings of D99. Measures have been taken to ensure the safety of students and staff that attend either schools by preventing the potential intrusion of ICE officers.
“For immigration officials to be on campus, they would have to have that criminally signed federal warrant,” D99 superintendent Dr. Hank Thiele said. “It’s got to be executed by a federal judge. If they have nothing, they have no purpose being on our campus.”
A bill titled HB1312 was recently passed through the Illinois House, awaiting the signature of Governor J.B. Pritzker and the consolidation as an official Illinois law. Its policy entails similar guidelines enacted by District 99.
According to ilga.gov, the Bill “prohibits a school from threatening to disclose the actual or perceived citizenship or immigration status of an employee, a student, or a person associated with an employee or student to an external party.” The Bill also requires, “ a school to develop procedures for reviewing and authorizing requests from law enforcement agents attempting to enter a school’s campus by January 1, 2026.”
If passed, the bill will require all Illinois public schools to turn ICE away in the event they attempt to search for anyone suspected of not having citizenship that is present on their campus.
Visit https://ilga.gov for more information on HB1312.
