Pritzker’s Illinois: Over 1,700 Criminal Aliens Released in 2025 Despite ICE Detainers
1,768 Reasons to Question Pritzker’s Public-Safety Record
Under Pritzker, the state of Illinois has released more than 1,700 criminal noncitizens into local communities since January 1, 2025, even though U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had active detainers on every single one of them. That’s the explosive claim coming directly from ICE this week, and it puts Pritzker’s sanctuary-state policies squarely in the crosshairs. According to ICE data, the 1,768 individuals released under Pritzker’s watch include people convicted or charged with some of the most violent crimes imaginable:
Murder and attempted murder
Aggravated criminal sexual assault
Predatory criminal sexual assault of a child
Kidnapping and child abduction
Armed robbery and serious weapons offenses
ICE says another 4,015 criminal aliens with active detainers are still being held in Illinois prisons and jails, among them individuals linked to 51 homicides and more than 800 sexual or predatory crimes against children.
Acting ICE Field Office Director Todd Lyons didn’t hold back: “Illinois, under Governor Pritzker, continues to release violent criminal aliens back into our neighborhoods instead of honoring federal detainers. These are not minor offenders—these are murderers, child rapists, and kidnappers. Governor Pritzker’s refusal to cooperate with ICE is putting Illinois families in danger.”
The timing couldn’t be worse for Pritzker. Just hours after ICE dropped these numbers, the governor signed a new law further restricting federal immigration enforcement—banning civil immigration arrests near courthouses, hospitals, schools, and daycares, and even allowing Illinois residents to sue ICE agents who violate the new rules. Critics are calling it the most aggressive anti-ICE measure in the country, signed on the very same day federal officials accused Pritzker of shielding over 1,700 dangerous criminals from deportation.
Pritzker’s office has pushed back, insisting Illinois cooperates when public safety demands it. But with sanctuary policies that date back to the 2017 Trust Act (which Pritzker has proudly defended and expanded), local jails are legally prohibited from honoring most ICE detainers unless the individual has a serious felony conviction—and even then, cooperation is spotty. The result? Murderers, rapists, and child predators walking free in Illinois communities while ICE is forced to try tracking them down later—if they can find them at all.
As Governor Pritzker heads into another election cycle with national ambitions, this growing list of released criminal aliens is quickly becoming the defining public-safety scandal of his administration. Illinois families deserve to know: How many more violent offenders will Governor JB Pritzker release before he finally puts cooperation with federal law enforcement ahead of sanctuary politics?
Sources
ICE Chicago Field Office statement & data release, Dec 7–8, 2025
Fox News: “ICE warns Illinois releasing violent criminal illegal aliens despite detainers” (Dec 7, 2025)
KOMO News/Sinclair Broadcast Group (Dec 8, 2025)
Washington Post: “Pritzker signs law limiting immigration enforcement in Illinois” (Dec 9, 2025)
Official statement from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker’s office on new immigration restrictions (Dec 9, 2025)