Welch, House Democrats Enact New Protections to Protect Due Process Rights from Trump Raids
WESTCHESTER, Ill. – Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch and House Democrats are standing up to Trump’s unconstitutional raids and blatant racial profiling by enacting a new law to protect people’s due process rights and secure places everyone should feel safe, like hospitals, daycare centers, and courthouses.
“Every one of us has read about the consequential moments of our history and wondered what we would do. Would we stand up to Jim Crow? Would we speak out against the internment camps? Would we stand between our neighbors and the SS? We’re facing another one of those consequential moments right now, and this law shows what we will do,” Welch said. “In Illinois, we will stand up for the rights of every person. We will stand up for our neighbors and our communities. We will stand up to racial profiling, to reckless hate, and to tyranny. We will stand together in this moment and the moments still to come, and we will make sure Illinois is always on the right side of history.”
As Trump’s masked agents spread fear in communities across Illinois, Welch introduced as passed House Bill 1312, which strengthens due process rights by creating a legal pathway for people to sue in state court if their rights are violated by law enforcement officers executing a civil immigration action.
Welch’s legislation also establishes protections for those without citizenship who are at or near hospitals, courthouses and daycares. The legislation prevents certain federal immigration enforcement actions at the following locations:
Courthouses: prohibits civil immigration arrests at or near courthouses and provides civil penalties for violations and attorney fee recovery.
Hospitals: requires hospitals to create formal policies for handling law-enforcement interactions, bars cooperation with immigration enforcement unless there is a judicial warrant and protects patient immigration-related information.
Daycares: prohibits disclosing immigration information about children or families and requires policies and training to protect children if a parent faces immigration action.
Additionally, the legislation establishes protections for Illinois college students in the midst of growing immigration raids in the state. It specifically bars higher education institutions from disclosing citizenship information, requires staff to be trained on verifying immigration warrants and helps students access immigrant rights resources.
House Bill 1312 was signed into law by the governor this week.
