South Central Reporter

Illinois state Rep. Blaine Wilhour (R-Effingham) fears that a new law recently signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker granting more protections to immigrant youths will ultimately spell trouble for the state. 

“We can’t have states circumventing federal law,” Wilhour told the South Central Reporter. “We can’t continue to do things just to spite Donald Trump because he upsets our sensibilities. I support securing our borders for multiple reasons, national security and huge drug problems being among them. There’s got be some work with the federal government.”

The new law doubles to two years the time a designated guardian can serve immigrant children whose parents have been detained or deported by federal immigration officials. The governor also signed off on a measure that allows undocumented children who have been abused or neglected to seek petitions for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker

“Chicago’s a sanctuary city already,” Wilhour said. “That means they’re already circumventing federal immigration law in not working with ICE authorities. Immigration’s a good thing, but we can’t just continue to keep our borders open. Politics is the only reason things aren’t being done more responsibly.”

The new laws come at a time of raised debate on the issue after an incident at O’Hare International Airport where three girls were held for half a day by U.S. Customs and Border Protection authorities after arriving in Chicago on a flight from Mexico with a relative who was denied entry into the country. While the girls are U.S. citizens, their parents are not and the mother claimed she was afraid to pick them up for fear she too would be detained.

“Democrats have long been on record for securing the border, but now that Trump’s president they’ve all of a sudden turned around on that,” Wilhour said. “If you really pull the layers back, he’s not doing anything different from what Barrack Obama did. I can’t point to many things that he’s doing different when it comes to detention centers and things of that nature.”