Key Point:
Illinois is home to approximately 1.8 million foreign-born residents, representing about 14% of the state’s total population. The Chicago metropolitan area concentrates the vast majority of this population, with communities from Mexico, India, Poland, the Philippines, China, Guatemala, Korea, Ukraine, and Nigeria making it one of the most diverse immigrant metro areas in the country.
Illinois has enacted some of the strongest immigrant protections of any state, including the TRUST Act (limiting local law enforcement cooperation with ICE) and the Illinois Way Forward Act (prohibiting private immigration detention facilities in the state). But a 2026 investigation by Injustice Watch revealed that these protections are being violated in over a third of Illinois counties, where local officials secretly share information with ICE. Federal enforcement operations have also escalated, including a fatal shooting by an ICE officer in Franklin Park and aggressive raids across the Chicago area.
An experienced immigration lawyer who understands both Illinois’s legal protections and their real-world limits is essential.
Aftalion Law Group serves Illinois residents throughout Chicago, Aurora, Rockford, Naperville, Joliet, Elgin, Peoria, Springfield, Cicero, Waukegan, and every community across the state.
Chicago has the fifth-largest immigrant population of any city in the United States. The Mexican community is by far the largest, with over 700,000 residents born in Mexico concentrated in Pilsen, Little Village, Back of the Yards, Cicero, and the southwest suburbs. Chicago’s Polish community is one of the largest outside of Poland. The Indian community is centered in the western suburbs (Schaumburg, Naperville, and the I-88 corridor). Filipino, Chinese, Korean, Guatemalan, Ukrainian, and Nigerian communities are established across the city and suburbs.
Beyond Chicago, Aurora, Elgin, and Waukegan have significant Latino populations tied to manufacturing, construction, and service industries. Rockford and central Illinois agricultural communities employ immigrant workers in farming and food processing. The Chicago tech and financial sectors employ thousands of professionals on H-1B, L-1, and O-1 visas.
Illinois has an estimated 400,000 undocumented residents. Approximately 175,000 U.S. citizen children in the state have at least one undocumented parent.
Illinois has one immigration court serving the entire state, but it is one of the largest in the country.
Address: 525 W. Van Buren Street, Suite 500, Chicago, IL 60607
Phone: (312) 697-5800
The Chicago Immigration Court has 24 active judges, making it one of the highest-capacity courts in the country. According to TRAC Immigration data from Syracuse University covering fiscal years 2020 through 2025, asylum denial rates at Chicago range from 11.7% to 70.0%. That is one of the widest ranges of any single court in the country. Drawing the right judge can be the difference between protection and deportation.
Five Chicago judges illustrate the range:
| Judge | Decisions (FY 2020-2025) | Asylum Denial Rate | What This Means for Case Prep |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peyton, Jennifer I. | 206 | 11.7% | Most favorable on the Chicago bench; well-documented cases with strong testimony have high success rates |
| Klein, Eliza C. | 178 | 24.2% | Very favorable; expects organized evidence and consistency between declarations and testimony |
| Salovaara, Kaarina | 663 | 56.6% | Middle of the bench, high volume; demands comprehensive documentation and strict deadline adherence |
| Defoe, Craig A. | 1,128 | 64.3% | Highest volume in Chicago; expects concise, well-organized filings |
| Cole, Samuel B. | 220 | 70.0% | Highest denial rate; cases require the most aggressive evidentiary preparation and expert testimony |
The Chicago court has 19 additional judges. Full data at the TRAC Immigration Judge Reports page.
Appeals from the Chicago court go to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), and further appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Illinois does not have a major ICE detention facility. The Illinois Way Forward Act (2021) prohibits the operation of private immigration detention facilities within the state. This means immigrants detained by ICE in Illinois are transferred to facilities in neighboring states, often hundreds of miles from their families.
Common transfer destinations include:
Dodge County Detention Facility (Juneau, Wisconsin)
Kenosha County Detention Center (Kenosha, Wisconsin)
Clay County Jail (Brazil, Indiana) with ICE Intergovernmental Service Agreement
Pulaski County Detention Center (Ullin, Illinois) county facility with ICE contract
The Illinois Way Forward Act protects against the expansion of private detention capacity within the state, but it creates the painful reality that detained family members are shipped across state lines. ICE does not always notify families of transfers, and the distance makes visiting and coordinating a defense without an attorney extremely difficult.
Do not wait. Call Aftalion Law Group at (424) 270-6767 immediately. Our attorneys can locate your family member through the ICE Online Detainee Locator, appear at their bond hearing, argue for their release, and build their defense while they are inside. You can also call the ICE Detention Reporting and Information Line at 1-888-351-4024.
Illinois is a sanctuary state with two key laws: the TRUST Act, which limits local law enforcement cooperation with ICE, and the Illinois Way Forward Act, which prohibits private immigration detention facilities. Chicago has additional municipal sanctuary policies. But a 2026 investigation revealed that these protections are being systematically undermined in parts of the state, even as federal enforcement operations have turned violent.
A 2026 Injustice Watch investigation found that local police, sheriffs, and prosecutors in over a third of Illinois counties have helped federal immigration agents detain or deport at least 150 people, directly bypassing the TRUST Act.
County prosecutors became ICE informants, sharing private information including jail release dates, court schedules, and personal details with federal agents. Even in cities that attempted to block ICE cooperation, fingerprints and names shared with federal databases automatically flagged old immigration records, allowing ICE to target individuals despite local sanctuary policies.
This means Illinois immigrants cannot assume the TRUST Act will protect them in every county. The protections are real in Chicago and Cook County, but enforcement cooperation continues in many suburban and rural jurisdictions.
Federal enforcement operations have intensified across the Chicago area in 2025 and 2026. High-profile operations, including tactics linked to past actions like Operation Midway Blitz, have continued across the metro area. In one incident, an ICE officer fatally shot a man during an enforcement operation in Franklin Park, and other violent encounters have raised tensions statewide. Governor JB Pritzker ordered investigations into these operations and demanded answers from federal authorities.
Driver’s licenses. Illinois issues Temporary Visitor Driver’s Licenses (TVDL) to all residents regardless of immigration status. DACA recipients with valid EADs are eligible for standard licenses.
If ICE comes to your home or workplace, you have constitutional rights regardless of your immigration status. Read our full guide on what to do if ICE comes to your door.
If you or a loved one has been contacted by ICE, arrested, or received a Notice to Appear in Illinois, call (424) 270-6767 now.
Illinois is served by the USCIS Chicago Field Office at 101 W. Congress Parkway, Chicago, IL 60605. This office handles interviews, biometrics appointments, and naturalization ceremonies for all Illinois residents. USCIS Office Locator
Mail-in applications from Illinois are processed by the USCIS Nebraska Service Center or the National Benefits Center depending on form type. As of mid-2026, processing times for key applications are:
| Form | Purpose | Estimated Processing Time |
|---|---|---|
| I-130 | Family petition (spouse of U.S. citizen) | 11 to 17 months |
| I-130 | Family petition (other preference categories) | 15 to 26 months |
| I-485 | Adjustment of status | 10 to 26 months |
| N-400 | Naturalization / citizenship | 5 to 10 months |
| I-90 | Green card renewal | 18 to 24 months |
| I-751 | Removal of conditions | 18 to 30 months |
Verify current wait times at the USCIS Processing Times page.
When delays exceed published processing times, a federal mandamus lawsuit can compel USCIS to act.
Aftalion Law Group handles the full spectrum of immigration and criminal defense matters for Illinois clients. Our attorneys build a customized legal strategy for every case, whether you are filing your first petition, defending against removal, or trying to get a loved one out of detention.
Illinois’s economy creates immigration needs at every level. The Chicago tech and financial corridors drive H-1B, L-1, O-1, and EB-category employment petitions. The massive Mexican and Central American communities create high-volume family immigration, asylum, and removal defense demand. Manufacturing, construction, and agriculture across the state employ workers who need visa compliance and status guidance. Criminal defense with immigration consequences is particularly important in counties where TRUST Act violations mean any arrest can lead to ICE involvement.
Illinois offers some of the strongest legal protections for immigrants of any state in the country, but the 2026 Injustice Watch investigation proved those protections are being violated in over a third of the state’s counties. The TRUST Act says local police cannot cooperate with ICE. The reality is that prosecutors and sheriffs in many jurisdictions are sharing jail release dates, court schedules, and personal information with federal agents anyway.
This gap between law and practice is exactly why experienced legal representation matters. Aftalion Law Group understands the Chicago court’s 24 judges and their individual decision patterns. We know which counties are cooperating with ICE despite the TRUST Act. We track the enforcement operations across the metro area and build case strategies that account for the real enforcement environment, not just the law on paper.
The Chicago court’s 11.7% to 70.0% judge-to-judge spread means your case outcome depends heavily on preparation tailored to your specific judge. Aftalion Law Group reviews TRAC data for every assignment and calibrates evidence, testimony preparation, and filing strategy accordingly.
Our attorneys are licensed in California and New York and represent clients before USCIS and every immigration court nationwide. We serve clients in English and Spanish, supporting Illinois’s Spanish-speaking communities across Chicago, the suburbs, and the entire state.
Counties: Cook, DuPage, Lake, Will, Kane, McHenry, Sangamon, Winnebago, Madison, Champaign, Peoria, St. Clair, Kankakee, DeKalb, Macon, Tazewell, McLean, Rock Island, LaSalle, Kendall
Cities: Chicago, Aurora, Rockford, Naperville, Joliet, Elgin, Peoria, Springfield, Waukegan, Cicero, Champaign, Bloomington, Decatur, Evanston, Schaumburg, Des Plaines, Oak Park, Berwyn, Wheaton, Arlington Heights, Skokie, Palatine, Moline
No matter where you are in Illinois, our team is ready to assist you with your immigration needs.
If you live in Illinois and need immigration help, whether for a family petition, an employment visa, a citizenship application, deportation defense, or a loved one in ICE detention, Aftalion Law Group is here to fight for you.
Schedule a free consultation with Aftalion Law Group immigration lawyers and contact us to discuss your case today.
Call (424) 270-6767 now for a free case evaluation.
The Chicago Immigration Court at 525 W. Van Buren Street, Suite 500, Chicago, IL 60607 handles all removal proceedings for Illinois residents. The court has 24 judges with asylum denial rates ranging from 11.7% to 70.0%.
Illinois does not have a major ICE detention facility due to the Illinois Way Forward Act. Detainees are transferred to facilities in Wisconsin, Indiana, or downstate Illinois. Search for a detained family member at the ICE Online Detainee Locator. Then call Aftalion Law Group at (424) 270-6767.
Yes. The TRUST Act limits local police cooperation with ICE, and the Illinois Way Forward Act bans private detention facilities. However, a 2026 investigation found that over a third of Illinois counties are violating the TRUST Act by sharing information with ICE.
Yes. Illinois issues Temporary Visitor Driver’s Licenses (TVDL) to all residents regardless of immigration status.
It depends on where you live. Chicago and Cook County have strong compliance. Many suburban and rural counties have been documented sharing information with ICE despite the TRUST Act. An immigration attorney can help you understand the enforcement environment in your specific area.
Processing times vary by petition type. Cases go through the USCIS Chicago Field Office and Nebraska Service Center. Check the USCIS Processing Times page for current estimates.
Reviewed: August 2026
