February 24 Updates
National
Many important bills are coming up for a vote this week in the house and senate:
HR 32: No bailout for Sanctuary Cities Act
Brandon Johnson is set to testify March 3 - it’s highly likely they will want to delay the vote on this until they “embarrass” Chicago
Make sure to contact your representatives to express how important this bill is to you
Would codify protections for sensitive locations (churches, hospitals, schools) against immigration enforcement
Sen Duckworth and Sen Durbin are already co-sponsors of this bill – please let your friends from other states know how important this is.
As for the House, Rep. Sorensen (17th District) and Rep Budzinski (13th District) here in IL are the Congresspeople we need to target to get their support.
House Budget Reconciliation - long process that will likely be embattled and argued extensively
Sign on to the letter from NIJC telling Congress to oppose massive cuts to essential community and family services, which will directly impact millions of Americans.
Call your representatives directly to emphasize the importance of protecting the American people instead of giving billionaires more tax breaks.
Please see this very helpful GUIDE from the Latino Policy Forum on who to call, what to say, and summaries of each bill.
NIJC explainer for New Class Action Settlement Requires ICE To Stop Rampant Constitutional Violations For People Subject To ICE Detainers
When most law enforcement agencies arrest someone, the Fourth Amendment sets guardrails to protect the impacted person’s constitutional right to liberty. Typically, law enforcement must prove to a neutral reviewer, usually a judge, that there is probable cause to keep this person in jail. That is not the case for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which has routinely issued forms called “detainers” to local authorities requesting that they keep an individual extra time, so an ICE officer can pick them up. Historically, there has been no neutral oversight of the probable cause for the detainer arrest. A new settlement agreement under Gonzalez v. ICE is set to change this for most of the United States starting on March 4, 2025.
Illinois
Find your representatives in IL here
Bills coming up in the state legislature need our support:
SB1857 / HB3400 - restoration of the VTTC program to its original eligibility criteria, once again allowing survivors:
who are preparing to apply to file an application for immigration status, to receive funds to pay for food and essential items during this vulnerable time period.
who fled to the U.S. alone (i.e.., the vast majority of human trafficking survivors were forced to flee their country without their family) to be eligible for the program again.
See fact sheet here
Please email andreakovach@povertylaw.org to have your organization sign on to a letter of support for the bill organized by the Poverty Law Center, or to get more information.
Sign on as co-sponsors of the bill here
MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund) helped write these bills
would prevent schools from disclosing information about a child’s immigration status or working with ICE agents
SB 2033 - Immigration Safe Zones Act
Presented by State Senator Villanueva (of Little Village) and Cristina Castro (of Elgin) – contact them for how advocates can help in pushing this bill forward