Originally published by the Chicago Tribune on January 29, 2026
The way to fewer Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in neighborhoods is not through chaos, protests or citizen intervention into law enforcement actions. It is through policy change to decrease the need for immigration enforcement in neighborhoods.
I’ve voted for policies to make that happen.
If my Democratic colleagues in the Illinois House also want fewer ICE agents on the sidewalks of our communities, there is an immediate step they can take: Repeal the Illinois TRUST Act and the Illinois Way Forward Act.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, in 2025 alone, Illinois released 1,768 criminal illegal immigrants with active detainers. Those allowed to go free included individuals accused of committing homicide, assault, burglaries and sexual crimes. What these Illinois laws have done is create legal barriers that push enforcement into street operations, where federal agents are left to track individuals without local support.
Sanctuary policies are directly responsible for the headline-making public interactions with ICE.
My colleagues are quick to blame President Donald Trump’s administration but will never admit their own role in creating this immigration enforcement mess. Actions at the state level have gotten us here, apart from the actions of former President Joe Biden’s administration.
According to the Pew Research Center, an estimated 550,000 immigrants were living here illegally in 2023 thanks to Illinois’ sanctuary policies. Democratic elected officials were wholly unprepared to handle the tax these policies have had on our system. These laws have been costly for communities, taxpayers and families.
For historical context, under President Barack Obama’s administration, America experienced a record number of deportations. Over those eight years, over 3 million people were removed with no widespread protests. It was peaceful, lawful and uncontroversial. It was allowed to happen through cooperation with local law enforcement. State- and city-level sanctuary policies broke that system.
Illinois’ sanctuary state framework, initially passed through the TRUST Act and built upon with the Way Forward Act, explicitly limits cooperation between state and local law enforcement with federal immigration enforcement without a federal criminal warrant or court order. Pitched as policies to build trust between immigrant communities and local law enforcement, they instead advertise Illinois as a refuge from law enforcement. They allow dangerous immigrants to commit nondetainable crimes and walk free, even when federal authorities have requested they be held. These policies are making Illinois less safe and requiring that any immigration enforcement action must take place in the streets. Both laws should be repealed.
I’ve seen the news stories that people don’t know where ICE detainees are being held. These are heartrending and also avoidable in Illinois. The Way Forward Act makes it illegal for federal immigration enforcement to contract with local governments and local law enforcement to detain individuals here. That means detainees must be held in federal facilities or shipped out of state.
It is also worth noting that beyond supporting these policies, my democratic colleagues and Gov. JB Pritzker are also engaging in public efforts to delegitimize ICE actions. We’ve seen elected officials attempt to block ICE from doing their jobs, and they’ve put out statements encouraging citizens to do the same. That kind of messaging erodes respect for the rule of law and places all law enforcement in an untenable position that ultimately leads to dangerous interactions between law enforcement and the public.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
Democratic policies in Illinois have encouraged this crisis in every way. They entice noncitizens to seek out Illinois, they prevent cooperation with federal officials when immigrants here illegally commit crimes and they disallow ICE detainees from Illinois to be held in nonfederal facilities.
Allowing criminals to walk free is not compassion; it is dangerous. And forcing ICE into street raids is not reform; it is dangerous — for ICE agents, the public and those whom ICE is trying to detain.
For every citizen who is watching with concern, these facts matter. If the goal is to protect communities and reduce the need for sensationalized federal enforcement actions, there is a straightforward policy solution: Restore real cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities.
State Rep. Norine Hammond, R-Macomb, represents the 94th District.