(KFTK) – A new policy has been implemented this year in Illinois, due to the Illinois Trust Act, a 2017 law signed by former Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner. The policy states that undocumented immigrants who are being released from prison can roam free after their sentence is served, instead of being detained by ICE.
“We were told this policy came directly down from the Governor’s office,” Kankakee County Sheriff Mike Downey said. He thinks this policy will cause a great deal of harm to residents of southern Illinois.
"It's frustrating because, not only are you putting our communities at risk, but you're putting first responders, law enforcement at risk because now we have to deal with individuals on the street," says Kankakee County Sheriff Mike Downey. "We all know things that happen out on the street, when these people don't want to leave our country, God knows what they're going to do. That's scary, that should be scary for every person in the state of Illinois."
Downey said typically, his department was in communication with ICE to coordinate the pickup and transfer of the felons from state prison to a federal detention center if they are here illegally in the first place.
"If you're an undocumented individual, you're not going to go to the nearest police station to register as a sex offender," says Downey
The Illinois Department of Corrections issued the following statement on the matter: “Under the Illinois Trust Act, the Illinois Department of Corrections is prohibited from detaining an individual solely on the basis of an immigration detainer or non-judicial immigration warrant. All incarcerated individuals are released at the expiration of their sentence. We continue to work with the Governor’s Office to review our policies and procedures to ensure the safety of Illinois residents and compliance with state law.”
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