By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD– Statehouse Republicans and the Illinois Sheriffs’ Association are mad about prisoners who have done their time NOT being deported.

The sheriffs say the Pritzker administration notified them last month the undocumented former inmates would simply be let out, rather than being deported. State Rep. Lindsay Parkhurst (R-Kankakee) says the new policy is a bad one.

“This is not affecting people that should have amnesty. We had 223 people in 2019 who were safely transported and deported to their country of origin because of their violent criminal nature,” said Parkhurst. “They are murderers. They are rapists. They are child molesters.”

A Pritzker news release says the Trump administration tears apart families, and the new policy is part of the state no longer helping ICE with deportations.

In an e-mailed statement attributed to the governor’s spokeswoman, Jordan Abudayyeh, the governor’s office says:

“As Donald Trump continues to advance policies that tear apart families and terrorize children, the Pritzker administration is committed to using every tool at our disposal to protect immigrant families in Illinois. The governor’s office is working closely with the Department of Corrections to review current policies, build on the progress made under the bipartisan Illinois Trust Act that was signed into law in 2017, and ensure the protection of immigrant families and all Illinois communities. As this work moves forward, the Department of Corrections will pause the majority of its interactions with ICE. The governor has made it abundantly clear that Illinois will be a firewall against the president’s attacks on immigrant communities.”