Authorities and the education establishment in Illinois are gearing up to resist federal immigration law and try to block enforcement to protect illegal immigrants, setting the stage for a potential showdown of historic with the U.S. government.
Passions are flaring on all sides as Illinois’ “sanctuary state” status comes under pressure.
On his first full day in office, President Donald Trump rescinded Obama-era “guidance” issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security limiting immigration enforcement in or near “sensitive areas” such as schools, hospitals, and churches.
“Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches,” DHS warned.
It is unlikely that federal authorities will be raiding schools anytime soon. And with the U.S. Supreme Court issuing a dubious ruling in 1982 opining that states cannot bar illegal immigrants from government schools, it is not clear that the Trump administration can even do much.
Still, it said agents would be trusted to use “common sense.”
Illinois Democrats freaked out. Almost immediately after the policy change, the Illinois State Board of Education and far-left teachers’ unions including the Illinois Education Association (IEA), an affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA), publicly announced their opposition.
The IEA boss even vowed to resist with “whatever it takes.”
The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) issued perhaps the most extreme statement, describing federal law enforcement as a “real threat” that government schools in Chicago were “staring down.” The union said anyone in authority who was not “doing everything in their power” to prepare and respond to Trump was doing a “disservice” to their community.
“[O]ur newly-minted U.S. President has decided to make the City of Chicago the opening scene for his mass deportation horror film -an attempt to use the power of the White House to rip apart families, disrupt communities and potentially try to violate the safest places in our neighborhoods, public schools,” the union said without a hint of self-reflection or any indication that the administration was planning to raid schools.
In recent years, the union “fought for and won sanctuary policies at CPS” to ensure that public schools would protect illegal immigrants, CTU said. “Because of our last contract, there are protocols to prevent ICE officers from having free access to our school buildings, to activate legal responses, and to protect our students’ rights,” it continued.
Among other demands, the far-left union is asking for “training protocols” that will help school staff resist federal law.
“Section 46.7.6 of our agreement requires [Chicago Public Schools] to collaborate with CTU to design and implement district-wide training, beginning in 2019, to protect school communities from unauthorized ICE agent entry into school buildings,” the union added.
Whether government helps or not, the union is preparing. “Despite not receiving training from the district, we are preparing our members to create ‘sanctuary teams’ and working in each school to ensure educators know what to do in case of a raid and are prepared to protect our students and their rights,” it said.
The state education bureaucracy responded to the policy change with its own “guidance” for school districts and schools. Outlining various tips, the document offered ideas on how to respond to scenarios ranging from requests for information to arrest warrants for illegal immigrants. “ISBE believes that schools should be a safe haven for all students where students should be able to learn without fear,” the guidance explains before urging districts to examine and possibly update policies on “the level of cooperation – or non-cooperation – with ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement].”
Among other arguments, the board claimed everyone has a right to a tax-funded “education” by government, regardless of whether they are in the country legally or not. The guidance also pointed to potentially unconstitutional state laws prohibiting state and local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
Hiding behind those state laws, the guidance subtly urges education officials to frustrate federal efforts to enforce the law. But that may be in danger. Just last week, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the “sanctuary” policies of the State of Illinois, the City of Chicago, and Cook County, including the laws cited by the Board of Education.
According to the suit, state and local officials are “oftentimes affirmatively thwarting” such enforcement. The active interference in federal law enforcement is resulting in “countless criminals being released into Chicago who should have been held for immigration removal from the United States,” the suit reads.
DOJ is also investigating state and local officials.
Those laws have caused massive problems for Illinois, as this writer documented in 2023 for IFI. Conservative estimates suggest struggling American taxpayers spend over $7.5 billion per year on government “education” for illegal immigrants nationwide. The burden on Illinois with its sanctuary policies is undoubtedly worse than other states.
The Chicago Public School system, one of the most disastrous in the nation, is also vowing to resist. In a statement about Trump’s policies, CPS officials would not share information with ICE except in the “rare case” of a court order as they focus on providing a “high quality pre-K-12 education” to “all students.”
“Chicago Public Schools remains committed to protecting the rights of all students to a free public education, regardless of their immigration status or the immigration status of their family,” CPS said in a statement about the DHS reversal of Obama policies turning schools and other institutions into sanctuaries for illegal immigrants.
Separately, the state’s largest union with around 135,000 taxpayer-funded members and massive amounts of political influence, also lashed out at the federal government. Apparently, the IEA is upset that the feds are now seeking to uphold the laws passed by the American people’s elected representatives.
“We will not stand by and let our students, our families and our communities be torn apart,” declared IEA President Al Llorens in a statement.
“No family should be criminalized for wanting a safe and better future. In this country, every child has the right to learn at our public schools, colleges and universities.”
Llorens went on to falsely claim that IEA’s mission in Illinois was to make sure “ALL children” have access to “an equitable, high-quality public education.” In reality, the union’s mission is to represent its members — interests of children and taxpayers are rarely a factor, except for PR purposes.
Less students means less funding, of course.
Secondly, there is no “high-quality public education” available to any children in Illinois. In fact, with less than a third of the victims of government schools in the state considered even “proficient” in either reading or math on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the system is a total failure by its own pathetic metrics.
Dozens of schools in the state have failed to produce even one single student proficient in anything.
But the IEA wants to make sure illegal immigrants can receive this fraudulent tax-funded “education,” too. “School buildings should be safe havens,” Llorens continued.
“Our students should not have to fear attending school. Their parents should not have to worry that their children might not come home because they were taken into custody by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE).”
“Our educators should not be put in the crosshairs of these political policies,” added the far-left union boss.
“School employees should be allowed to focus on supporting and educating all our students. We will do whatever it takes to protect ALL our students, our teachers, our school support staff, our communities.”
Phony rumors of ICE raids on schools spread by Governor JB Pritzker and others have been swirling, reportedly causing fear. Border Czar Tom Homan expressed outrage.
“Governor Pritzker, rather than calling ICE and asking, ‘Did this happen or did it not happen?’ he goes on social media and terrifies elementary schoolers,” Homan said on Fox News.
“He accuses me of terrifying the community. No, he terrified the community. He terrified the children,” Homan continued.
“Governor Pritzker needs to give ICE an apology. What he did was just plain wrong. And by doing that, he put fear in a community that shouldn’t have to be there.”
In an interview with this writer, Border Czar Thomas Homan explained that one of the big reasons Democrats were so adamant in promoting open borders and mass migration was simple: political power. In short, they hope to exploit illegal migrants for more votes and more representation for leftwing states in Congress.
Former Customs and Border Protection chief Mark Morgan echoed those concerns. “This is about politics, and it’s disgusting,” he told this writer in an interview near the border in Texas, saying the Biden administration deliberately “destroyed” the border for political purposes.
Not everyone in authority in Illinois is opposed to the deportations. Homer Township Supervisor Steve Balich was quoted celebrating.
“I think it’s a great thing, and President Trump said he did it, and the people overwhelmingly voted for President Trump, and he’s fulfilling a promise that he made that to the American people and I think it’s great.”
If unions and bureaucrats are truly concerned for the safety and wellbeing of students, there is plenty they could do. They might focus on stopping the massive and horrific sexual abuse perpetrated against children in schools, for example, or the rampant gang activity and crime.
They could also rein in the sexualization and indoctrination that has produced an explosion of suicide, despair, crime, and other horrors.
Even just teaching reading and math would be a major improvement.
Instead of tackling those very real threats to children, though, Illinois authorities and leftwing unions seem more interested in grandstanding, sowing fear, and wasting taxpayer money agitating against ICE and federal law.
Taxpayers, voters, and even illegal immigrants in Illinois would be wise to protect their children from the out-of-control system before it does even more damage.
Originally published at The Illinois Family Institute.
