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SB 1203

Modifies provisions relating to taxation

2026 Regular Session Introduced by Adam Schnelting

Illinois SB 1203 requires state and local agencies to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement and bars local policies restricting such cooperation.

Second Read and Referred S Economic and Workforce Development Committee
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WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · SB 1203

Note on source materials
- The documents provided include multiple, different draft texts labeled “SB 1203” (an Illinois “Immigration Enforcement Act,” a Hawaii Alzheimer’s screening bill, and an Arizona limited‑partnership technical correction). This summary focuses on the Illinois “Immigration Enforcement Act” text (introduced Jan. 24, 2025 by Sen. Andrew S. Chesney), which matches the bill title you requested. If you want summaries of the other drafts, tell me which one.

Bill at a glance
- Title: Immigration Enforcement Act (Illinois) — SB 1203 (Introduced Jan. 24, 2025)
- Sponsor: Sen. Andrew S. Chesney
- Key status note (from provided record): Introduced / First Reading; referred to relevant committees. (Check the official Illinois General Assembly site for current status.)
- Effective date (as drafted): “Effective immediately.” (The bill text indicates immediate effect.)

Purpose and intent
- To require State and local governments, and law enforcement agencies in Illinois, to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement and to prohibit local or State policies that materially restrict such cooperation. The bill seeks to centralize immigration‑enforcement policy at the State level and eliminate local limits on assistance to federal immigration authorities.

Key provisions and changes
1. Prohibition on noncooperation policies
- Bars any State entity, local entity, or law‑enforcement agency from adopting or maintaining laws, ordinances, rules, policies, or practices (formal or informal, written or unwritten) that prohibit or materially restrict compliance with or assistance in enforcing federal immigration laws.
- Explicitly covers activities such as: inquiring about immigration status; transmitting or sharing immigration‑status information with federal agencies; complying with immigration detainers; notifying federal agencies before inmate release; allowing federal immigration officers access to jails; participating in Section 287 (ICE) programs; and other assistance or information sharing.

  1. Mandatory duties regarding immigration detainers

    • When a law‑enforcement agency initially takes custody of a person subject to an immigration detainer, it must: a. Notify the court that the person is subject to an immigration detainer; b. Record in the person’s case file that they are subject to a detainer; c. If the detainer is “facially sufficient,” comply with detention requests to the extent required by law.
    • “Facially sufficient” is defined (roughly) to mean the federal detainer form either shows probable cause on its face or is accompanied by a warrant (e.g., Form I‑200, I‑205) or other supporting documentation.

  2. Mandatory ICE/federal housing agreements

    • Each county jail, municipal jail, and the Illinois Department of Corrections must enter agreements with ICE or another federal agency for temporarily housing persons who are the subject of immigration detainers, including payment of housing/detention costs.

  3. State preemption and limits on home rule

    • Declares regulation of immigration enforcement to be an exclusive State power, limiting local home‑rule authority on this subject.

  4. Repeals and related program changes

    • Repeals the Illinois TRUST Act (which previously limited local cooperation with ICE).
    • Makes corresponding amendments across statutes: Illinois Identification Card Act, Vehicle Code, Public Aid Code, Administrative Procedure Act, Department of Human Services Act.
    • Creates an “Asylum Travel Expense Program” in DHS to provide transportation/travel expenses for noncitizens seeking asylum to either: a. another state that prohibits local cooperation with ICE, or b. the noncitizen’s country of origin.
    • Requires the department to use the cheapest means of transportation and transfers $10,000,000 from the General Revenue Fund into a new fund to support the Program.

Who and what would be affected
- State agencies, counties, municipalities, local law‑enforcement agencies, county and municipal jails, Illinois Department of Corrections, courts (insofar as notice and recordkeeping duties are required), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal immigration agencies, immigrants and noncitizens (including those subject to detainers and asylum seekers), and taxpayers (through detention cost obligations and the $10M transfer to the asylum program).

Procedural/timeline aspects and implementation
- The introduced text sets immediate effect; however, actual implementation depends on legislative enactment and appropriations.
- Agencies and localities would need to execute housing/detention agreements with federal immigration authorities, and DHS would implement the new asylum‑transport program and administer the $10M fund.
- The bill rescinds prior State limits on local cooperation (e.g., Illinois TRUST Act), so passage would represent a policy shift toward mandatory cooperation.

Potential impacts and considerations
- Operational: increased cooperation with federal immigration enforcement; jails and DOC may incur detention and administrative costs but also would be eligible for federal reimbursement only if covered under agreements.
- Fiscal: $10,000,000 transfer for the Asylum Travel Expense Program; additional local/state costs for detaining and transferring persons unless federal reimbursements are secured by agreement.
- Legal and civil‑rights implications: the bill emphasizes consistency with federal law and protection of civil rights, but the mandatory cooperation and limitations on local authority could face legal scrutiny, particularly around constitutional, civil‑liberties, or due‑process claims depending on implementation.
- Policy: reversal of sanctuary‑policy protections (e.g., repeal of TRUST Act) and a new mechanism to move asylum seekers to other states or abroad, which may raise humanitarian and intergovernmental concerns.

Related bill
- Companion: HB 1604 (per provided materials).

If you want
- I can produce a side‑by‑side checklist of obligations for local sheriff’s departments and county jails, or draft a one‑page fiscal impact checklist identifying likely cost centers and potential federal reimbursement avenues.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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