Rauner vetoes three ‘bad’ immigration bills, OKs two others
Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoed three immigration measures on Friday, describing them in a downstate radio interview as “very important bad bills” that Illinois Democrats are using to support illegal immigration.
Rauner said in the radio interview on WJPF that one of the measures — which would have banned state agencies, as well as public schools and universities from asking about citizenship or immigration status — is “sort of part of that whole sanctuary concept, and I’m against that.”
Rauner did sign two immigration measures, however. One is the Anti-Registry Program Act, which will bar state and local agencies from creating registry programs that single out Illinois residents based on race, national origin, religion or other characteristics. The other the governor said he’d sign would remove immigration barriers to many professional licenses in the state.
The governor’s office said the immigration laws Rauner signed “align with the governor’s belief that the nation and the state of Illinois should be immigrant-friendly within the bounds of federal immigration law.”
Still, Rauner has said he does not support sanctuary cities or Illinois being a sanctuary state.
With just 10 weeks to go before the November election, Rauner is working hard to gain back some of his conservative backers.
The immigration measures were part of a package that the Illinois General Assembly passed during the last session.
The Voices Act would have required Illinois law enforcement to sign off on immigration paperwork within 90 business days for immigrant victims who help police and prosecutors bring criminals to justice. Federal officials already offer immigration visas for victims of violence, but the federal law doesn’t offer a deadline for that certification to occur. Lawmakers wanted a deadline for immigrants who are often left in legal limbo.
“That ties the hands of law enforcement. It can delay deportations which should otherwise occur, and again, that’s a bad bill, and we’re going to be against that,” Rauner said. “We don’t want to be tying the hands of our local law enforcement.”
Rauner also vetoed the Immigration Safe Zones Act, which would ban state agencies, as well as public schools and universities, from asking about citizenship or immigration status unless required by law or court order. It would also have required the Illinois attorney general to come up with rules on how public schools, hospitals, libraries and courthouses could limit assistance to immigration authorities without breaking federal and state laws.
“That’s wrong as well, and that bill would direct the attorney general to publish policies unlimiting the assistance between state officials and immigration enforcement at the federal level,” Rauner said. “That is wrong. That’s sort of part of that whole sanctuary concept, and I’m against that.”
The third piece of legislation Rauner vetoed is the Immigrant Tenant Protection Act, which would have prohibited landlords from harassing or retaliating against immigrant tenants.
“We should not be tying the hands of any property owners in the state or supporting illegal immigration in that way,” Rauner said in the interview.