Illinois lawmakers pass bill banning ICE immigration arrests near courthouses

Illinois lawmakers passed a bill on Friday prohibiting federal agents from making immigration arrests near courthouses.

The measure also allows lawsuits when people believe their constitutional rights were violated during civil immigration arrests.

The legislation, approved largely along party lines, was sent to Democrat Gov. JB Pritzker's desk. His office said he supports the idea and will review the proposal when it reaches his desk.

According to the bill, civil damages for false imprisonment could be imposed when a migrant attending a court hearing or appearing as a party or witness to a legal proceeding is arrested.

Supporters of the bill say courts must be accessible to everyone to seek resolutions to violations of their rights, but even one of the measure's top sponsors acknowledges it will face an uphill battle in court.

"It’s not just about the constitutionality of the law, which I think is sound, but it’s the reality that the courts are stacked against us," Democrat Senate President Don Harmon said. "The federal government can try to remove it from state courts to federal courts. They can try to substitute the government itself for the individual defendants, but that’s not a reason not to try."

Earlier this month, a judge in Cook County, which includes Chicago, issued an order blocking immigration arrests at county courthouses, citing concerns about "fear or obstruction" while migrants attend court proceedings. The order prohibits immigration authorities from making civil arrests of any "party, witness, or potential witness" during court appearances.

The federal government, however, contended that "there are no legal sanctuaries where you can hide and avoid the consequences for breaking the law."

"...Democrats are idiots and ignore laws that violate their very sensitive emotional beliefs..."

I admit, I had to laugh gently as I read that, because it is what we all know to be true...that is, it is a given.

That said-I still believe in this country and the way it was set up by the Founders. I have always felt we are where we are because of the "frog-in-hot-water" theory.

There are entities who wish to transform our Constitutional Republic into something that is called a Constitutional Republic but is nothing of the sort, and they have been around for over a century now: Socialists, Communists, and Leftists in general.

It boils down to class warfare for them: This country made its bones on the fact that we have largely been a classless society. It doesn't mean we don't have classes, because we do. It is because of that whole "All men are created equal" thing, which when reduced to its elements, means all of us who are citizens of this Constitutional Republic are equal in the eyes of the law.

And that has been seen as an impediment to the Left, so they have tried to erode that, to make some people more equal than others because they cannot foment a revolution without removing that. We were never perfect at being a Constitutional Republic, but we tried, and tried to keep improving.

It is why I am hopeful in the renaissance of Conservatism. We want to "Conserve" the principles of our Constitutional Republic. On the "other" side, like death and taxes, they will never disappear, because even though the principles of Leftism (Socialism and Communism) are wholly incompatible with a Constitutional Republic constituted the way ours is (as perfectly described in F.A. Hayek's "Road to Serfdom") there is a saying by P.T. Barnum that describes why this battle will never be won, and will always have to be fought:

"There is a sucker born every minute."

And that means the battle will never be won. The Left understands P.T. Barnum's axiom all too well, so they will always have new recruits for their cause, new cannon fodder, new "Useful Idiots", and we must always man the ramparts to defend against them and defend our Constitution and our Republic.

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