Immigration

Mexico’s security chief confirmed Tuesday that 17 family members of cartel leaders crossed into the U.S. last week as part of a deal between a son of the former head of the Sinaloa Cartel and the Trump administration

State-run program set to end July 1 while Congress considers wider Medicaid cuts

The federal policy is illegal, according to the attorneys general, because Congress controls spending and executive branch agencies cannot withhold appropriations allocated by Congress

Two state-run health care programs that extend Medicaid-like coverage to noncitizens may have provided significant financial benefits for Illinois hospitals

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said she was not in contact with murdered activist Emma Shafer’s family and was unaware they were at another site protesting her visit

For a fourth consecutive weekend, a protest against President Trump's policies was held in Joliet.

As some question America’s standing as a nation of immigrants and our intentions and ability to fulfill our responsibilities under international law respecting people fleeing persecution, it is important to recall the concept of E Pluribus Unum, the association says.

The visas of five Northern Illinois University international students that were revoked by the federal government weeks ago have been reinstated, a university spokesperson said Tuesday.

Federal immigration agents are reversing the termination of legal status for international students across the country, and a spokesperson for Northern Illinois University said Friday that NIU leaders are keeping apprised of the ongoing situation.

A large crowd turned out Thursday to DeKalb High School for legislative updates with U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood. She spoke on several topics including immigration and whether she's considering a Senate run for retiring Democrat Dick Durbin's seat.

The FBI on Friday arrested a Milwaukee judge accused of helping a man evade immigration authorities, escalating a clash between the Trump administration and the judiciary over the Republican president’s sweeping immigration crackdown

A large crowd turned out this week to protest the federal government’s decisions to revoke visas from five international students at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. Attendees included U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood and Cortland Mayor Mark Pietrowski, who works at NIU.

More than 100 people from 34 counties became new U.S. citizens at a naturalization ceremony in Joliet at the Rialto Square Theatre on Thursday.

The Supreme Court on Saturday blocked, for now, the deportations of any Venezuelans held in northern Texas under an 18th century wartime law

The Trump administration’s claim that it can’t do anything to free Kilmar Abrego Garcia from an El Salvador prison and return him to the U.S. “should be shocking,” a federal appeals court said

The Supreme Court on Thursday kept on hold President Donald Trump’s restrictions on birthright citizenship but agreed to hear arguments on the issue in May

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois hosted a naturalization ceremony in which 105 new citizens from 34 countries were sworn in as United States citizens at the Rialto Square Theater in Joliet on Thursday, April 17, 2025.

Judge warns of contempt proceedings against Trump administration for defying court orders

A federal judge on Friday lambasted a government lawyer who couldn’t explain what, if anything, the Trump administration has done to arrange for the return of a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported last month to a notorious prison in El Salvador

Supreme Court orders action to bring back Kilmar Abrego Garcia from El Salvador

Northern Illinois University officials declined to provide more information Thursday on the public institution’s five international students whose visas have been revoked by the U.S. government. No one has said publicly why the students lost their visas as of Thursday.

In a bitterly divided 5-4 decision, the court said the administration must give Venezuelans who it claims are gang members “reasonable time” to go to court

Hundreds crowded in downtown DeKalb Saturday with a message to President Donald Trump: hands off immigration and human rights, the economy, Social Security and government workers, among others. Similar protests were held in all 50 states Saturday.

Activists in DeKalb are planning a mass protest on Saturday to rally against the Trump administration over what they call a “brazen power grab” disrupting federal institutions and depriving working people of needed jobs and services. Partisan and nonpartisan groups are expected.

City leaders this week issued sharp rebukes after they said multiple Latino-owned businesses in DeKalb recently were targeted by letters filled with what Mayor Cohen Barnes called “hate speech.”

A Downers Grove man who operated an immigration assistance practice is facing multiple immigration fraud charges, according to a federal indictment unsealed Monday.

“We know there are myths about these laws. But we must not let mischaracterizations and fearmongering obscure the reality that Chicago’s crime rates are trending down,” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson told the committee

The Health Benefits for Immigrant Adults program covered noncitizen adults age 55 to 64 and was later expanded to cover those as young as 44. It cost $485.3 million over its first two years, roughly 284% more than the combined original estimate for both programs

A pair of health care programs that benefit noncitizens far outstripped its original estimated price tag and cost the state of Illinois $1.6 billion through last summer, according to a new audit of the programs

Hundreds march for immigrant rights in DeKalb. "My goal was to spread a message of love and empathy," 16-year-old march participant Vianney Pacheco said.

About 30 people gathered on First Avenue bridge between Sterling and Rock Falls on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025, to protest immigration policies enacted by the Trump administration.

About 30 people gathered on the First Avenue bridge between Sterling and Rock Falls on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025, to protest mass deportations.

Organizers said they were hoping to uplift the immigrant community by hosting Sunday's march, which drew a significant crowd in downtown DeKalb.

A union official says the Trump administration has fired 20 immigration judges without explanation amid sweeping moves to shrink the size of the federal government

With the TRUST Act in place statewide, non-sanctuary resolutions in Grundy County and throughout the state have little legal power, even in the wake of Trump’s changes to federal immigration policy

An electronic sign outside a Palatine church has sparked controversy with its use of metaphorical immigration-related language.

The Trump administration sued Chicago and the state of Illinois on Thursday alleging that ‘sanctuary’ laws in the nation’s third-largest city “thwart” federal efforts to enforce immigration laws

A line of Mexican National Guard and Army trucks are rumbling along the border separating Ciudad Juárez and El Paso, Texas, among the first of 10,000 troops Mexico has sent to its northern frontier following tariff threats by President Donald Trump

Thousands of demonstrators have gathered outside a federal courthouse in Philadelphia and at state capitols in Michigan, Texas, Wisconsin and Indiana to protest the early actions of President Donald Trump's administration

A federal judge in Maryland has ordered a second nationwide pause on President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship for anyone born in the U.S. to someone in the country illegally

In the days following President Donald Trump’s inauguration, Illinois attorney Marleen Suarez has received a flood of clients asking her to prepare paperwork to turn their children to friends, family, or even strangers, if they are deported.

A crowd of more than 150 people gathered in West Chicago to protest mass deportations Monday, saying the policy unfairly targets Latino residents.

Multiple DeKalb County area businesses will close Monday for Day Without Immigrants, a national campaign meant to show the importance of immigrant communities. Protests will address 'these times of uncertainty for many of our community members," a business owner said online.

A Joliet grocery store and several restaurants were closed for one day as part of a nationwide protest in solidarity with immigrants in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign.

Two days after nonprofit groups sued the federal government over a stop-work order targeting programs that provide information and guidance to people facing deportation, the U.S. Justice Department reversed course

More than 30 DeKalb County businesses took part in Day Without Immigrants, a nationwide campaign, by closing on Monday to show solidarity in their stance against President Donald Trump’s anti-immigration policies. The campaign also raises awareness for immigrant communities.

How has the possibility for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to enter sensitive areas such as schools affected the Kankakee County community?

DeKalb County education, law enforcement and faith leaders weighed in this week on policy changes from President Donald Trump’s new administration that could bring federal immigration agents into schools and places of worship.

Will County schools, agencies respond to President Donald Trump's executive order declaring the Department of Justice will investigate or prosecute agencies which do not comply with immigration enforcement officers.

The Illinois State Board of Education is encouraging local school districts to adopt clear policies spelling out how and when their staff should cooperate with federal immigration officials carrying out enforcement actions or seeking information from school officials.