(Newsweek) JB Pritzker Looking at Prosecuting ICE Agents in Chicago

[Chomsky]

JB Pritzker looking at prosecuting ICE agents in Chicago

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker has suggested that state prosecutors might examine the conduct of ICE agents.

www.newsweek.com

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"The tables will turn one day," Prtizker told FOX 32 Chicago."These people should recognize that maybe they’re not gonna get prosecuted today, although we’re looking at doing that, but they may get prosecuted after the Trump administration because the statute of limitations would not have run out."

"We’re talking to the state's attorneys and Attorney General to see how they can go at this because what we want to make sure is that they follow the law," he said.

Pritzker, who is widely seen as a potential candidate for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, has taken an increasingly assertive stance toward the Trump administration and its immigration enforcement agencies.

His remarks about potentially prosecuting federal immigration officers reflect an effort to position himself as a defender of state and local authority against what he characterizes as federal overreach.

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Illinois Governor Pritzker is attempting to build criminal cases against individual ICE agents and administrators, both currently and after a change of administrations.

We need to remember, besides his billionaire and governor status, he is a member of the Illinois Bar and the recipient of a Northwestern University J.D.

Consequently, Pritzker's singing a constant mantra to the public of, "document, document, document".

He implores this mantra at virtually every public appearance, and it appears he, the States Attorneys, and the City Corporation Counsel, are now sitting on an ever growing trove of video and other evidence submitted by the public and news orgs.

Pitzker is thought to be in the running for the Dem '28 Presidential nomination. But to be honest, he might best serve the American public interest as U.S. Attorney General.

Regardless - Pritzker is unambiguous in his words to the Administration, DHS, and ICE:

"The tables will turn one day"

 

[Bonnot]

Good. **** ICE.

 

[Luce]

Good. It's nice to see that someone has a pair.

 

[Callen]

Trump will just pardon them and they know it given what he did with the Jan 6th rioters. Basically you have thousands of LE with virtually free reign to do as they wish. Think about that for a minute!

 

[Chomsky]

Good. It's nice to see that someone has a pair.

A pair down below, grey matter above, plenty of heart, and a J.D. & Bar Card in his pocket!

I'd say if anyone's equipped for battle, it's J.B.!

 

[Luce]

Trump will just pardon them and they know it given what he did with the Jan 6th rioters. Basically you have thousands of LE with virtually free reign to do as they wish. Think about that for a minute!

He can't pardon them for state level offenses, and Pritzker cannot have them investigated or indicted for federal level offenses.

Assuming the republic survives, and this is by no means a foregone conclusion, they will in fact have to answer for their actions.

 

[ColdHardTruth]

Trump will just pardon them and they know it given what he did with the Jan 6th rioters. Basically you have thousands of LE with virtually free reign to do as they wish. Think about that for a minute!

He cannot pardon state charges.

 

[Chomsky]

Trump will just pardon them and they know it given what he did with the Jan 6th rioters. Basically you have thousands of LE with virtually free reign to do as they wish. Think about that for a minute!

Federal pardons do not preclude State charges, as our dear Presidential Felon has found.

J.B., in the guise of the Cook Country States Attorneys Office, has a virtual army of seasoned hardened prosecutors, well versed in State, County, and Municipal law. Outside defense attorneys will not have the knowledge and experience of the Cook County system, nor have the established relationships with the judges and prosecutors.

 

[Callen]

He can't pardon them for state level offenses, and Pritzker cannot have them investigated or indicted for federal level offenses.

Assuming the republic survives, and this is by no means a foregone conclusion, they will in fact have to answer for their actions.

Good point ! Of course he can't unless there is some weird thing in there about acting as federal employees enforcing federal law.

 

[Koala]

I think obvious crimes can and should be prosecuted, but if they are federal agents acting to enforce a presidential order -- its gonna be difficult to nab them on that. Even if the Presidential Order is found later to be illegal or wrong, you cant go back and retroactively punish the individual agents for acting on what they had every reason to believe was a lawful order by the President.

I see people here saying that State Law would supercede federal law, but my very very limited understanding of Constitutional law would ssay that this is probably not a very accurate statement. Certainly its not that simple. State Law cannot supercede Federal Law in a matter that is usually the perview of the federal government -- such as immigration and border enforcement. It just cant, thats basically the whole point of having a federal government.

Pritzker's best bet would seem to be getting these individuals on clear violations of state law, that do not have anyything to do with federal law, or even violations of federal law. So, arresting someone perhaps without reading their miranda rights, unlawful search and seizure, unlawful detainment, violation of due process, etc. Those are violations of Federal law too, so in those are good cases to nab some of these ICE cowboys.

 

[Chomsky]

He can't pardon them for state level offenses, and Pritzker cannot have them investigated or indicted for federal level offenses.

Assuming the republic survives, and this is by no means a foregone conclusion, they will in fact have to answer for their actions.

Let's not forget just how large and compassing, homogenous or not, the Northern Illinois law enforcement and criminal justice system is. Cook County is the largest court system in the world.

Besides those required for local charges to be brought, Pritzker will have an army of people he can bring with him and install at the federal level.

We saw Obama do just that, even though Obama was in effect a "carpet bagger", an outsider transplant not fully accepted until after his his Presidential run.

Pritzker on the other hand is uniquely fully integrated into the business, legal, and political landscape. The human and other resources he can bring to federal government will be abundant, and all loyal and of similar ideology.

I can assure you the local prosecutorial and judicial communities, first-hand exposed to the ravages of ICE on a daily basis, are chomping at the bit to provide justice.

 

[HenryChinaski]

That scum bag on the roof that assaulted that preacher with a pepper ball could be prosecuted, no question.

 

[Callen]

I think obvious crimes can and should be prosecuted, but if they are federal agents acting to enforce a presidential order -- its gonna be difficult to nab them on that. Even if the Presidential Order is found later to be illegal or wrong, you cant go back and retroactively punish the individual agents for acting on what they had every reason to believe was a lawful order by the President.

I see people here saying that State Law would supercede federal law, but my very very limited understanding of Constitutional law would ssay that this is probably not a very accurate statement. Certainly its not that simple. State Law cannot supercede Federal Law in a matter that is usually the perview of the federal government -- such as immigration and border enforcement. It just cant, thats basically the whole point of having a federal government.

Pritzker's best bet would seem to be getting these individuals on clear violations of state law, that do not have anyything to do with federal law, or even violations of federal law. So, arresting someone perhaps without reading their miranda rights, unlawful search and seizure, unlawful detainment, violation of due process, etc. Those are violations of Federal law too, so in those are good cases to nab some of these ICE cowboys.

I suspect that would be the focus of any charges as well as criminal acts such as assault, unnecessary use of force etc. I actually feel a bit sorry for these guys they are so far over their head. They are immigration officers , they have no experience or training in things like crowd control, urban policing, swat like operations, de-escalation etc.

 

[HenryChinaski]

The problem would be positively identifying the thugs because they're wearing masks and they're not displaying credentials.
And that is the point.

 

[Chomsky]

Interesting comments. We'll see how that works out on a national leve by the time 2028 presidential elections roll around.

So far he hasnt really promised anything but that he'll look into it. I think obvious crimes can and should be prosecuted, but if they are federal agents acting to enforce a presidential order -- its gonna be difficult to nab them on anything. Even if the Presidential Order is found later to be illegal or wrong, you cant go back and retroactively punish the individual agents for acting on what they had every reason to believe was a lawful order by the President.

I see people here saying that State Law would supercede federal law, but my very very limited understanding of Constitutional law would ssay that this is probably not a very accurate statement. Certainly its not that simple. State Law cannot supercede Federal Law in a matter that is usually the perview of the federal government -- such as immigration and border enforcement. It just cant, thats basically the whole point of having a federal government.

Pritzker's best bet would seem to be getting these individuals on clear violations of state law, that do not have anyything to do with federal law, or even violations of federal law. So, arresting someone perhaps without reading their miranda rights, unlawful search and seizure, unlawful detainment, violation of due process, etc. Those are violations of Federal law too, so in those are good cases to nab some of these ICE cowboys.

As you stated, on the local level this is a very difficult task. Federal Supremacy laws protect these agents. However I would assume there may be exception for egregious illegality that may apply. For instance when it can be shown ICE is operating outside the bounds of their regular duties.

In addition with ICE's propensity to outright lie about events, I'm wondering if ICE can be caught in perjury charges during their testimonies and presentation of evidence? Perjury is a felony in Cook County, and a jail-able offense.

Then there's Contempt of Court possibilities, if they stonewall judges in producing evidence.

Making cases will be extremely difficult, but there might be some at least scant possibilities.

 

[Chomsky]

That scum bag on the roof that assaulted that preacher with a pepper ball could be prosecuted, no question.

I very much believe so.

Those ICE deployment records or verbal testimony can be compelled, or if refused - be subject to Contempt of Court or Perjury. Perjury and Contempt are big deals in the Cook County System, and carry extremely serious weight.

The local judges take their directives extremely seriously. Anecdotally, I've probably heard of more guys doing time for probation and other court violations, than actual sentencing itself!

 

[Deuce]

I think obvious crimes can and should be prosecuted, but if they are federal agents acting to enforce a presidential order -- its gonna be difficult to nab them on that. Even if the Presidential Order is found later to be illegal or wrong, you cant go back and retroactively punish the individual agents for acting on what they had every reason to believe was a lawful order by the President.

You absolutely can do that. Qualified immunity doesn't protect officers who had reason to believe their actions were violating constitutional liberties. The 4th amendment supersedes any orders the president might have, and no reasonable person could believe ICE agents are not aware of the 4th amendment.,

 

[Chomsky]

The problem would be positively identifying the thugs because they're wearing masks and they're not displaying credentials.
And that is the point.

Yep.

That's what happened with the guy ICE ran over from behind while was walking in a parking lot. Local police want to charge, but he can't identify the agent driving due to their wearing masks over their faces.

In fact, Broadview PD has at least 6 or 7 (last I saw) open criminal cases like this - that are stalled due to the inability to identify the agents due to their wearing masks along with ICE's lack of cooperation in local criminal investigation.

 

[Koala]

As you stated, on the local level this is a very difficult task. Federal Supremacy laws protect these agents. However I would assume there may be exception for egregious illegality that may apply. For instance when it can be shown ICE is operating outside the bounds of their regular duties.

In addition with ICE's propensity to outright lie about events, I'm wondering if ICE can be caught in perjury charges during their testimonies and presentation of evidence? Perjury is a felony in Cook County, and a jail-able offense.

Then there's Contempt of Court possibilities, if they stonewall judges in producing evidence.

Making cases will be extremely difficult, but there might be some at least scant possibilities.

Great post, I absolutely agree with you. The thing with ICE agents is that they have been so reckless in so many aspects, theyve probably egregiously violated several federal laws that had nothing to do with operating under the bounds of their regular duties. Thats what I think we should focus on.

 

[HenryChinaski]

ICE arrested a guy dressed as a giraffe singing Rod Stewart songs.

 

[aociswundumho]

I think obvious crimes can and should be prosecuted, but if they are federal agents acting to enforce a presidential order -- its gonna be difficult to nab them on that. Even if the Presidential Order is found later to be illegal or wrong, you cant go back and retroactively punish the individual agents for acting on what they had every reason to believe was a lawful order by the President.

It depends. If the order is clearly illegal, then they can't hide behind it. Civil suits are also a possibility.

 

[HenryChinaski]

Yep.

That's what happened with the guy ICE ran over from behind while was walking in a parking lot. Local police want to charge, but he can't identify the agent driving due to their wearing masks over their faces.

In fact, Broadview PD has at least 6 or 7 (last I saw) open criminal cases like this - that are stalled due to the inability to identify the agents due to their wearing masks along with ICE's lack of cooperation in local criminal investigation.

Hiring and detail duty records could be subpoenaed.

 

[Luce]

Good point ! Of course he can't unless there is some weird thing in there about acting as federal employees enforcing federal law.

Federal agents have no special immunity to law, any more than state or local enforcement has.

We have qualified immunity, but that is strictly for lawsuits.

 

[Koala]

You absolutely can do that. Qualified immunity doesn't protect officers who had reason to believe their actions were violating constitutional liberties. The 4th amendment supersedes any orders the president might have, and no reasonable person could believe ICE agents are not aware of the 4th amendment.,

I also think that detaining U.S. citizens for simply failing to demonstrate proof of citizenship is b.s., and federal judge should have no problem calling it illegal. Thats a pretty clear case of 4th amendment there. If Im a ciitzen, I dont think I should have to carry around a passport or my birth certificate at all times just to avoid being detained. Thats unlawlful detainment, IMO. THey have to prove reasonable suspicion that i am not a citizen. RIght now the only proof they use apparently is the ethnicity/race (hispanic) of people they ask, which is not a legal reason to be suspicious of any crime or citizenship status.

However, I dont know if proving this as a criminal violation is the best way to go,. I think it would be much wiser for these AG's to get together and bring a class action lawsuit against ICE for violating the rights of U.S. citizens. Sue them for more than whatever Donald Trump gave them in their budget, so Im talking a multi-billion dollar lawsuit.

 

[primaryKey]

You absolutely can do that. Qualified immunity doesn't protect officers who had reason to believe their actions were violating constitutional liberties. The 4th amendment supersedes any orders the president might have, and no reasonable person could believe ICE agents are not aware of the 4th amendment.,

I believe ICE agents are not aware of the 4th amendment. It appears to me as if they are brazenly unaware of even the existence of the Bill of Rights - except maybe 2A. Surely they interview to make sure no such knowledge is in evidence before issuing their face hankies.