Tracy joins other Illinois lawmakers seeking answers on non-citizen crime data

SPRINGFIELD — Four Illinois state senators are calling on state and federal leaders to address concerns about recent federal data that shows thousands of non-citizens who have crossed into the United States are charged with serious crimes.

State Sen. Jil Tracy (R-Quincy), State Sen. Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet), State Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Cherry Valley), and State Sen. Craig Wilcox (R-McHenry) are sending a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, demanding to know how many of the non-citizens charged with serious crimes might be in Illinois.

A United States Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) report shows 435,000 convicted criminals and 226,000 with pending criminal charges are currently in the United States.

Tracy said in a news release that Illinois has become a hotspot for illegal immigrants because Gov. JB Pritzker is determined to make Illinois “the” destination state for non-citizens. 

“Shortly after taking office, Gov. Pritzker proudly proclaimed, ‘Let there be no doubt that Illinois is a welcoming state.’ He has used taxpayer-funded resources to create programs like free healthcare for migrants and illegal immigrants in Illinois,” Tracy said. “Yet, we currently have Illinois veterans and citizens living with disabilities who struggle to find adequate services. Hard-working Illinois families are struggling to pay their bills.”

Tracy notes that Pritzker has pushed for legislation to make it more difficult to deal with criminals who are here illegally.

“Thanks to the Trust Act, if police in Illinois pick up someone wanted by ICE for a conviction or pending charges, they can’t communicate or coordinate with ICE officials to transfer them into federal custody. We have literally tied the hands of our own law enforcement, so they are unable to get criminals out of our country,” Tracy said. “What if someone here illegally commits a serious crime in western Illinois? They will serve their term and be released right back here, and no one in our criminal justice system is even allowed to communicate with federal authorities, preventing that person’s deportation. How insane is this?”

Republican lawmakers have sponsored legislation to repeal or scale back the Trust Act to empower law enforcement. Tracy’s press release said Pritzker and his allies have no interest in improving laws to protect the people they are supposed to be serving.

“Here is the reality we live in. We have a large, unknown number of non-citizens here with violent criminal convictions or pending charges, and we can’t even do anything about it,” Tracy said. “These crimes have victims. How many of them are in Illinois? How many of the non-citizens convicted of crimes have been detained locally in Illinois only to be released? How many of them with pending charges won’t see their trial because they were released here? These are questions that must be answered.”

When asked for a comment from the governor’s office, Press Secretary Alex Gough said “We are not going to indulge these racist attacks.”