Blue state Republican calls on county sheriffs to defy sanctuary law, Dem governor rumored for 2028 run
EXCLUSIVE — Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., is calling on sheriffs in her state to defy Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the state’s sanctuary laws and instead uphold federal immigration law.
Miller said the state’s sanctuary policies have transformed the Land of Lincoln into a "cesspool of crime and drugs." She is calling on sheriffs in the state to "act now" and ignore Pritzker’s attempts to circumvent President Donald Trump on immigration law and instead work directly with U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) on deportations.
This comes as Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, also a Democrat, have emerged as some of the nation’s leading resistance voices against the Trump administration, especially when it comes to his crackdown on illegal immigration.
The Democratic-majority Illinois legislature passed the TRUST Act in 2017, which limits local law enforcement’s ability to cooperate with ICE and bars them from enforcing immigration law.
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Pritzker, who is seen as a possible 2028 presidential candidate, has continued to fight the administration, even denouncing Trump as an "authoritarian" and calling for mass protests to disrupt the president’s agenda, saying Republicans "cannot know a moment of peace."
The Democratic governor has also vowed to resist the administration’s immigration agenda and has said that Trump and border czar Tom Homan are "the ones who are threatening people."
ICE has said that state and local policies inhibiting law enforcement from cooperating with ICE endangers federal agents and communities by allowing public safety threats to walk free.
The Trump Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed legal charges against Pritzker, Johnson and several other Chicago officials for refusing to honor ICE detainers, which the department said, "obstructs ICE from assuming custody of an alien in a safe and controlled manner."
In its filing, the DOJ said that "when a detainer is not honored or an alien is released from a non-federal facility without notification or transfer to ICE, ICE must conduct investigations and perform targeted enforcement actions to re-apprehend the alien. And while ICE is undertaking re-apprehension efforts, the alien remains at-large in the community and free to commit further crimes or otherwise threaten public safety."
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Though police departments are typically under the direct control of city officials, sheriffs are elected by the people they serve and often have more leeway to enforce the law unimpeded by political pressure.
As such, Miller is urging sheriffs across the state to stand against Pritzker and state authorities and enforce immigration law.
"I call on every local sheriff in Illinois to defy these dangerous directives, cooperate with ICE, and support President Trump’s deportation efforts," Miller said to Fox News Digital.
She said that "Pritzker’s sanctuary state policies have transformed Illinois into a cesspool of crime and drugs brought by the illegals he is actively resettling."
"Our communities are being overwhelmed, innocent girls are being raped, and Americans are being ruthlessly murdered," she added. "These are the tragic consequences of his failed leadership."
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"We must act now before one more innocent American life is lost or harmed," she said.
Pritzker's office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.