PEORIA — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Peoria Mayor Rita Ali both said there is an expectation, or a worry, that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will be seen in the Peoria area at some point.
Pritzker has been an outspoken opponent of the Trump administration’s controversial immigration enforcement efforts in the Chicagoland area, calling it “awful” during a press conference in Peoria on Tuesday.
“We’ve had ICE in Illinois and across the country for many years,” Pritzker said. “This is not a new thing. ICE is a department that’s been around a long time and they do immigration customs enforcement, but it’s never been like this where they are breaching people’s constitutional rights. I can name you four of the 10 amendments of the bill of rights that they are breaching.”
Cities in downstate Illinois, like Peoria, Springfield and others, have not seen ICE enforcement on the scale of what has been happening in the Chicago area. Actions in Chicago have led to violent clashes between federal agents and protesters.
Pritzker said Tuesday that ICE agents have already been active in Urbana.
“It is awful. I’ve never seen anything like this in my — I’m 60 years old — as long as I’ve paid attention in the world, I’ve never seen anything like it,” Pritzker said. “So, yeah, I think you will see them in Peoria as we will see them in other cities and perhaps other places across the state of Illinois and there are no limits on what they’re doing.”
Pritzker added that because the ICE agents have “limited” federal immunity, the state cannot hold them responsible for the “breaches of the constitution.”
“We have to rely on the federal judiciary and they are seemingly, so far, doing their job, which is great, holding them responsible although more enforcement against them perhaps is necessary,” Pritzker said. “But to be clear, the president of the United States, Tom Homan, who is the deportation czar, Kristi Noem, who is the head of the Department of Homeland Security, and Gregory Bovino, who is on the ground, none of them have suspended a single person in ICE or customs and Border Patrol for the mistreatment they have brought on the people of Chicago and Illinois and I really mean mistreatment.”
Bovino, a commander with Border Patrol overseeing immigration enforcement in Chicago, appeared in federal court on Tuesday and was ordered by a judge to begin appearing in court every day to report use of force incidents by ICE, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Peoria’s mayor and police chief have discussed ICE
Ali told the Journal Star she has had discussions with Police Chief Eric Echevarria and the Peoria Public School system about what to do if or when ICE activity happens in Peoria.
Ali said it does appear that ICE has been focused on places where there are Democratic mayors. While the mayoral office and City Council roles in Peoria are technically non-partisan, Ali said people know about affiliations.
“I don’t want to say I expect that to happen but I face the fact that it may,” Ali said.
Schools in Peoria have told families to send their kids to school and not be scared, Ali said, but added the city has already had scares about ICE that have caused people to react in fear. Earlier this year, a council of Illinois Fire Chiefs met in Peoria and were seen checking into hotels. Ali said a rumor spread around the city that they were ICE agents and it caused an entire soccer field to get cleared because people were panicking.
“People were panicking and didn’t want to be out on the streets and they didn’t want to be at festivals or local events because they are afraid and I don’t want that kind of panic or fear for people that live or visit Peoria,” Ali said. “It’s very unfortunate. We don’t have that talking point or message prepared yet, but we are working on it.”
“We’ve always been protective of our residents whether they were citizens or not and I am still protective of our residents whether they are citizens or not,” Ali said. “This is a country of immigrants and we welcome immigrants who have more than not become productive people in our community. They are workers, neighbors and friends and I want that to continue.”
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Pritzker thinks ‘you will see’ ICE activity in Peoria at some point
Reporting by JJ Bullock, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
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