Chicago-Area Congressional Delegation Urges ICE to Release Local Immigrants from Detention

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Representatives Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Jesús "Chuy" García (IL-04), Danny K. Davis (IL-07), Bobby Rush (IL-01), Robin Kelly (IL-02), Mike Quigley (IL-05) and Marie Newman (IL-03) announced a letter they sent to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and the Acting Director of the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) asking for the prompt release of immigration detainees in Illinois facilities. The Illinois Way Forward Act was signed into law last year and aims to end immigration detention within the state while expanding protections for immigrant communities. With this intent in mind, as well as the risks of the COVID-19 pandemic, and concerns of depriving detainees of access to family and counsel, the Members urged DHS and ICE to use their discretion to release individuals in formal removal proceedings on bond, on their own recognizance, or under an order of supervision pending the outcome of those proceedings.

The Members of the delegation in the letter wrote, "All counties in Illinois are required to initiate the termination of their contracts with ICE in January 2022. Rather than transferring individuals to other detention facilities, exacerbating the risk of COVID spread during a time when cases are dramatically escalating throughout ICE custody, it is imperative that your agencies begin the case reviews and process of releasing people in ICE detention in the Kankakee Jerome Combs Detention Center and McHenry County Jail. It is also critical that you fulfill your promise of engaging with legal service providers and community groups and ensure legal access and allow for attorney-client calls for people in both jails as this process is underway."

They concluded, "We urge you to respect the spirit and letter of the decision by Illinois elected officials to end ICE detention. We request that your agency quickly uphold your promise of engagement with Illinois legal service providers and community groups. We also ask that you provide a briefing to our offices regarding the process and standard operating procedures in place for the Illinois facility closures. To protect the health, safety, and human rights of people detained in Illinois, we ask that your agencies use your authority to safely release people in detention into the care of their communities."

A copy of the full letter is available HERE.

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