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FROM:
Bonnie Cox, LWVIL President
Hilary Denk and Heather Cunningham, LWVIL Issues Co-chairs
Kim Reed, LWVIL Issue Specialist, Immigration
RE: SB35 (Immigration Safe Zones Act), SB3488 (Anti-Registry Act), and SB34 (VOICES Act) - Support all three bills
ACTION NEEDED:
Call your State Representative and ask him or her to support these two bills:
Ask BOTH your State Representative and your State Senator to support this bill:
WHY IT MATTERS:
- SB35 Immigration Safe Zones Act: Immigrants often live in fear due to ruthless enforcement tactics used by immigration agencies in sensitive locations. Recently, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) published updated guidance indicating their intent to conduct arrests in courthouses around the country. School Districts, universities, and hospitals have enacted policies to help immigrants and their families feel safe when seeking medical assistance, attending school or other community spaces. This bill would require the Attorney General to publish model rules to support sensitive locations including publicly funded schools, publicly funded hospitals, public libraries and court houses when faced with immigration enforcement. It would encourage agencies to adopt these model rules or other similar policies and require agencies to remove questions regarding immigration status from their forms (unless required by law). This bill was passed out of the IL Senate and is now before the IL House.
- SB34 VOICES Act (Supports Domestic Violence and Trafficking Survivors): To qualify for a T or U visa, domestic violence and trafficking survivors need a law enforcement agency to provide certification that documents the survivor's cooperation. Many agencies, however, refuse to issue certification or delay their responses. These delays and refusals prevent survivors from applying for U and T visas and discourage survivors from coming forward to work with law enforcement. This bill would require law enforcement and other investigative agencies to designate certifying officials to respond to certification requests and provide outreach to survivors about the certification process. Survivors must first ask for a certification from the law enforcement agency that detected, investigated, or prosecuted the offense and would require certifying officials to issue certification within 90 business days after they get the request.
- SB3488 Anti-Registry Act (Resist Registry Programs Targeting Ethnic and Religious Groups): Illinois has long welcomed individuals and families from all over the world, of all nationalities and faiths; yet, officials in our current federal administration have been openly discussing a registry program for persons of certain faiths and of certain national origins (specifically Muslim, Arab, and South Asian Americans) and have sought to outright ban travelers and immigrants from certain countries based largely on the predominant religion. Illinois should take a strong stand against and not participate in, facilitate, or support the creation of a registry directed at any group of residents in our sate based upon race, ethnicity, ancestry, national origin, or religious belief.
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