IMMIGRATION
Cook County proudly proclaims itself to be a welcoming community for immigrants and asylum seekers. Interactions with the criminal legal system can adversely impact an individual's immigration status.
Do you think prosecutors should consider the immigration-related consequences of prosecutorial decisions at all stages of a case and reach immigration-safe dispositions for noncitizens whenever possible? If yes, please explain what steps you will take to minimize the collateral immigration consequences to non-citizens in the criminal legal system?
CONWAY: |
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| Right now, we are seeing an unjust targeting of immigrants by the Trump Administration. As State's Attorney, I will not cooperate with ICE's immoral practices of mass incarceration and mass deportation, and I will ensure that Cook County's resources including gang databases are not used to assist in their reckless and illegal raids. |
FIORETTI: |
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| This, too, must be a case by case basis. Ideology will not and can not get in the way of the safety of Cook County residents. I do not support Cook County law enforcement becoming ICE agents whose job is to support federal immigration laws. If, however, a non-citizen poses a danger to residents of Cook County, I will do what I can to make the residents safe, as I believe my oath of office requires me to do. I believe the residents of Cook County would expect nothing less. |
FOXX: |
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Immigrant communities have been disproportionately affected by a biased criminal justice system. All of the reforms put in place by my administration have positively impacted the lives of all people of color ranging from bail reform, to expunging low-level non-violent cannabis offenses and overturning wrongful convictions. For too long minority communities have faced the brunt of the inequitable justice system in place. We’ve begun to change that while also making these same communities safer. My office understands that Trump's anti-immigrant policies and the crackdown has made it significantly harder for immigrant communities to report crimes or receive public aid. At the beginning of my term, I implemented a fraud hot-line that let Cook County residents anonymously report if they'd been the victim of fraud due to their immigration status. Residents shouldn't be afraid to report crimes. In addition, we successfully stopped the administration from blocking immigrants from receiving public aid like Medicaid or housing subsidies. In the wake of the Trump travel ban our office hired the first-ever Immigration Policy Advisor to limit the impact on communities who are subject to deportation. We have also sued and successfully, got an injunction against the Trump Administration from holding a person's use of public aid against them in a status change application. |
MORE:
DID NOT RESPOND
O'BRIEN:
DID NOT RESPOND
PFANNKUCHE:
DID NOT RESPOND
