A loophole in Illinois’ sanctuary laws has allowed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain immigrants in county jails, raising significant concerns about the treatment of undocumented individuals. In June 2025, a Honduran immigrant known as Mary, who resides in St. Louis, experienced this firsthand after being apprehended by ICE at a gas station. She described her time in detention as a period of uncertainty and distress, stating, “Dinner was the same every day, and waiting was the worst part because nobody tells you that you have to wait for such a long time.”
Mary and her husband, Jose, are part of a mixed-status family with two children, one born in Honduras and the other in the United States. Their lives were disrupted when ICE conducted immigration sweeps in their neighborhood. Just two weeks before Mary’s arrest, Jose was also taken into custody.
During their detention, both were held at the Phelps County Jail, located approximately an hour and a half from St. Louis. Mary recalls the anguish of being separated from her husband without any means of communication. “I was taken to the same jail where he was in, but they didn’t allow me to see him,” she said. Three days later, Jose was transferred to Monroe County Jail in Illinois, where he faced criminal charges for felony reentry under U.S. Code 1326. This law criminalizes the act of re-entering the United States after being previously deported.
Illinois has established itself as a sanctuary state with laws such as the **TRUST Act**, enacted in 2017, and the **Illinois Way Forward Act**, passed in 2021. These laws prohibit local law enforcement from cooperating with ICE on civil immigration violations and restrict the detention of immigrants in county jails. Despite these measures, investigative reporting by journalist Blair Paddock has revealed that at least 17 counties in Illinois continue to hold immigrants under contracts with ICE.
The loophole in these laws arises because counties can detain individuals on federal criminal charges, including immigration-related offenses. As Jacob Kang-Brown, a senior researcher at the Prison Policy Initiative, pointed out, ICE can utilize existing contracts between county sheriffs and the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) to detain immigrants. The data suggests that the number of immigrants in detention is significantly underreported; for instance, while ICE reported **57,200** individuals were incarcerated in June 2025, this figure does not account for those held in county jails, which could bring the total to approximately **83,400**—a **45 percent** increase.
In Monroe County, where Jose was detained, the county sheriff, Neal Rohlfing, confirmed that they can hold individuals with federal criminal charges if a warrant is signed by a judge. This situation has led to financial incentives for small counties, such as Monroe, which has a population of about **35,000**. Federal contracts can help fill budget gaps; for instance, Monroe County received **$343,317** from January to July 2025 for holding federal detainees.
Illinois State Representative Norma Hernandez has expressed her concern regarding the current legal framework. While she supports strengthening protections for immigrants, she noted that a Department of Justice lawsuit is currently challenging the state’s sanctuary status in federal court. “I don’t think people should be criminalized for entering into another country,” Hernandez stated, emphasizing the historical context of immigration in the United States.
The impact on families like Mary and Jose’s is profound. After spending nearly six months in Monroe County Jail, Jose was deported back to Honduras. He returned to find that his mother had passed away during his detention. Mary, who spent approximately a month in jail, has described the emotional toll on their children, who have struggled to cope with the absence of both parents. Her son, once active and cheerful, now prefers to stay indoors, while her daughter barely speaks, missing her father.
The situation underscores a critical challenge facing immigrant communities: the intersection of criminal and immigration law has led to the increased detention of individuals who might otherwise be protected under sanctuary laws. The ongoing scrutiny of these laws and their enforcement will likely continue as advocates seek to address the complexities surrounding immigration in the United States.
