Bill Text: IL SJR0057 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges Governor Pritzker to establish a commission for expedited pardons associated with immigration-related actions.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2021-01-13 - Session Sine Die [SJR0057 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2019-SJR0057-Introduced.html
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| 1 | SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The current national immigration policy provides | ||||||
| 3 | cruel and unusual punishment to immigrants with criminal | ||||||
| 4 | convictions; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, Convicted immigrants, even those found guilty of | ||||||
| 6 | minor offenses, are being deported after they have paid their | ||||||
| 7 | debt to society; and
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| 8 | WHEREAS, These individuals are being deprived of their | ||||||
| 9 | families, their communities, and their country, often based on | ||||||
| 10 | cases with inadequate evidence and an improper defense; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, This is apparent in the case of Miguel Perez, who | ||||||
| 12 | was a legal permanent resident and joined the Army after 9/11; | ||||||
| 13 | he served two tours in Afghanistan with distinction and left | ||||||
| 14 | the military with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and | ||||||
| 15 | brain injury trauma; and
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| 16 | WHEREAS, Miguel Perez was caught in a drug sting and was | ||||||
| 17 | convicted without proper representation; he was sentenced to a | ||||||
| 18 | long term in a state penitentiary and was then taken by | ||||||
| 19 | Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for deportation; he | ||||||
| 20 | was held by ICE for one year pending his appeals and was then | ||||||
| 21 | deported to Mexico; and
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| 1 | WHEREAS, Miguel Perez was eligible for Veterans Affairs | ||||||
| 2 | (VA) health care but found there was no VA facility in Mexico; | ||||||
| 3 | and
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| 4 | WHEREAS, Miguel Perez was only allowed to reenter the | ||||||
| 5 | United States after he received a full pardon from Governor | ||||||
| 6 | Pritzker; he has now achieved full U.S. citizenship; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, The governors of New York and California have | ||||||
| 8 | issued pardons on an expedited basis in approximately 30 cases | ||||||
| 9 | in 2017; and
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| 10 | WHEREAS, ICE's aggressive actions can often be offset by | ||||||
| 11 | pardons, but this requires expedited action to avoid | ||||||
| 12 | deportation; therefore, be it
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| 13 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL | ||||||
| 14 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES | ||||||
| 15 | CONCURRING HEREIN, that we urge Governor Pritzker to | ||||||
| 16 | immediately establish a commission for expedited pardons | ||||||
| 17 | associated with immigration-related action.
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