ICIRR celebrates the passage of S.A.L.T. platform priorities by the Illinois General Assembly

Monumental protections for people visiting hospitals, courthouses, early childhood centers, and state universities included in HB 1312

Members of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) celebrate the passage of HB 1312, which includes multiple priorities from ICIRR’s Safety and Action for Liberation Together (S.A.L.T.) platform. This legislation represents meaningful steps forward in protecting immigrant communities at a time when the Trump administration is looking more like an authoritarian regime, sowing fear and abducting community members in ways that were previously off limits to immigration enforcement. At this critical moment, ICIRR members celebrate both the welcoming of new protections, and the fruits of organized grassroots resistance to protect our neighbors.

Priorities from the SALT platform included in HB 1312 include:

• Pushing back on ICE’s cruel targeting and intimidation of immigrants seeking protection and justice at county courts. HB 1312 bans civil arrests at and near courthouses, reaffirming a centuries-old legal privilege for an age of intensified civil immigration enforcement. This language is supported by over 80 legal and community organizations.

• Curtailing the ability for ICE to weaponize health care,  HB 1312 adopts protections for people accessing care in hospitals, including restrictions on sharing of patient data, requirements that hospitals implement and train their staff regarding procedures on how to handle civil immigration activity.  This language was developed in partnership with the Legal Council for Health Justice.

• Ensuring safe learning environments at public universities and community colleges. HB 1312 includes safeguards against disclosure of personal information and requirements that schools have procedures to handle immigration enforcement operations on campus and provide access to know-your-rights materials and trainings. This language was developed in partnership with the Latino Policy Forum.

• Reassuring parents that their children will be safe at licensed day care centers.  This bill includes restrictions on disclosure of immigration status information and requirements for procedures to address immigration enforcement.  This language was developed in partnership with the Latino Policy Forum, StartEarly, and Illinois Action for Children.

• Providing a clearer avenue for people to seek justice for unlawful arrests and detention, a proposal from Governor Pritzker’s office that provides an important mechanism for holding ICE and CBP accountable for their cavalier behavior.

“Our collective resistance to ICE and CBP’s violent attacks on our communities goes beyond community-led rapid response – it includes legislative solutions as well, and today Illinois made a brave choice to live up to its welcoming values,” said Lawrence Benito, executive director of ICIRR. “This people-powered victory was possible because everyday people stood up in the face of an increasingly fascist Trump administration and demanded that our state meet the moment. We thank the General Assembly for being proactive in supporting the SALT platform, and we look forward to Governor Pritzker signing this bill into law. We are further committed to continue defending and strengthening the Illinois TRUST Act, and advocating for new legislation that ensures all our community members are treated with dignity and respect.”

ICIRR thanks the sponsors of our individual bills, Senators Omar Aquino, Karina Villa, and Celina Villanueva, and Reps. Dagmara Avelar, Norma Hernandez, Lilian Jimenez, and Aaron Ortiz, as well as Senate President Don Harmon and House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch and House and Senate legislative staff for their leadership in getting this legislative package over the finish line.

ICIRR encourages all community members to know your rights: you have the right to record law enforcement activity in public spaces, the right to remain silent, the right to ask for an attorney, and the right to refuse to sign anything. More know-your-rights information can be found at icirr.org/fsn, and illinoisimmigrationinfo.org. Finally, if you see immigration enforcement activity in your neighborhood or if someone in your family has been taken, please call the ICIRR Family Support network Hotline at 855-435-7693.