An Illinois law prohibiting Kankakee and McHenry county jails from holding federal immigrant detainees runs into another roadblock. The 7th Circuit Court recently ruled to uphold an earlier ruling regarding the case that other counties have also been opposing.
The counties sued, arguing the state’s Illinois Way Forward Act was preempted and prohibited by the U.S. Constitution under the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.  As reported earlier, the three-judge appellate panel found that the state law didn’t conflict with federal law. 

“It would make no sense to hold that a federal statute premised on State cooperation preempts a State law withholding that cooperation,” U.S. Judge David Hamilton wrote in the opinion. “The Act directly regulates only State and local entities and law enforcement — not the federal government.”

McHenry County officials said they did not anticipate appealing the ruling. Kankakee County Sheriff Mike Downey has not commented. Both counties had contracts with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to jail people detained while awaiting a hearing on alleged immigration violations.

In August 2021, Gov. JB Pritzker signed the Way Forward Act into law. It prohibits local governments from contracting with ICE.

94.1 WGFA   IRN