September 29, 2025 • 12 mins
State Senator Graciela Guzmán and State Representative Lilian Jiménez discuss the Safe Schools for All Act, a new law that will protect Illinois students from having immigration authorities called on them or family members while they are in the classroom.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to this episode of the Sound of the State
podcast from the Illinois Senate Democratic Caucus. I'm Colby Hoff,
joined on Zoom today by State Senator Graciela Gusman of
the twentieth District and State Representative Leline Jimenez of the
fourth District. Senator Guzman and Representative Jimenez led legislation in
their respective chambers of the General Assembly. I'll spell thirty
four to twenty seven, commonly referred to as the Safe
(00:20):
Schools for All Act, to protect immigrant children from having
their schooling interrupted by the targeted arrival of immigration authorities,
which was signed into law in August and takes effect
on January first. Senator Representative, Welcome to the podcast. We
know that the federal administration has made a point to
target immigrant communities across the nation since taking office in January,
particularly focusing on our neighbors in Chicago Land Recently. When
(00:43):
did conversations leading to the Safe Schools for All Act begin?
Speaker 2 (00:47):
We started thinking about it last November. Remember, we were
all talking about Trump proofing Illinois. So those conversations, right,
and we were thinking about in terms of our community,
the immigrant community, what way ways we could trump proof Illinois,
we know that we were also thinking about that in
terms of the LGBTQ community and so many of our
allied communities, and so in terms of immigrants. One of
(01:08):
the areas we knew was going to be hit hard
after the President took office was a drop in school attendance.
And then we actually did see that drop in school
attendance in January, and so we knew that this effort
to make sure families and students feel safe in schools
was going to be important at that time.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
Just to add me a little bit of context to
well ma pinion us laid out, I think that drop
in our school attendance was pretty abrupt and sustained. So
I think it gave us a really big snapshot right
at the top of the presidency about why this kind
of overarching legislation will be necessary. I know in both
of our districts, we had schools with somewhere between twenty
(01:45):
percent and not just fifty percent of students that were
nat able to come to school because of really grounded
fear about what could happen if they went about their
daily lives. And so as we continue chatting with schools,
and it was clear that year was also sustained it
wasn't just tied to whether an individual a straight had
a compurred in our community. And I think it really
(02:07):
speaks to again the voicing and the role that policy
have to help and share that we are doing everything
in our power as a legislature to protect our community.
This is the kind of guidance that schools, school districts,
community members ask of our leadership. And that's why I
was presented give.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Us some background on what the law will do once
it takes effect in the new year. What what we
see happen in response to decisions made by the federal
administration as a result of the Safe Schools for All Act.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Well, really what it does is offer protections to families
and security to know that Illinois will not take the
same route that the federal government has taken in terms
of terrorizing the immigrant community. Unfortunately, we've seen families here
in Illinois, a father torn away from his family at
gunpoint at his home. That kind of activity is terrorizing
(02:56):
in our community. So we wanted to make sure that
Illinois has a law that really clearly states that all
students have the rights to K through twelve education in
Illinois regardless of immigration status, and that schools have clear
policies to that end. And beyond that, how does that
in practice happen. Well, the school district has to have
a policy to ensure families that their information will not
(03:17):
be shared with federal immigration authorities. So that's what this
bill does, is ensure that school districts will create policies,
establish their clear guidelines with their staff. What would happen
if there was a federal ice enforcement at a school,
what the school frontline staff would do in those types
of situations, and so having that preparation ahead of time
(03:39):
is what creates a safe community. What creates the ability
for families to be able to feel comfortable sending their
children to school and they themselves feel comfortable walking their
children to school picking up their children. We have had
also an incident of somebody being picked up by ice
at school pickup. So what these policies do is create
an atmosphere of safety and also an ability of parents
(04:00):
to know where they can go and who they can
talk to and not have to continue to hide in
the shadows and keep their kids at home because they
would be afraid if they didn't know that their school
is a safe place that would be a problem, and
these policies create the ability for parents and families to know, Okay,
this is a safe place.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
What do you hope our immigrant community here in Illinois
takes away from this legislation and the efforts we are
making as a state in such uncertain times.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
We want to make sure that they hear it loud
and clear, and we echo the governor, and the governor
echoes us. Our mayor is echoing our governor, and we're
all singing from the same hymn book on the fact
that Illinois a safe and welcoming community. And that's why
it feels like this are so important, because we want
to have something to point to, to share with families
how we can protect them. We can't control what federal
(04:45):
ice officers do in our community, unfortunately, but what we
can do is control what our local response is. What
the leaders in our community. School districts are leaders, principles
are leaders, police officers, state police. These are the leaders
in our community, and so what we can do at
the state level is make sure they are armed with information,
They are armed with education, understanding of the community that
(05:06):
they are leading. And that's what these policies like the
Trust Act, Safe Schools for All. We have so many
laws on the books now that create that atmosphere and
also guidance right we want to make sure that our
local leaders understand what to do in these difficult circumstances.
It was also crafted in a way that supports local
communities so that they can have a policy in place,
they can have clarity, they can have transparency, and that
(05:27):
community members understand what they can expect from their local leaders.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
To repument us as point about expectations, and I think
many of our legislators want to ensure our immigrant families
fuel ultimately is supported or affirmed. I think our state
is stronger for the presence of immigrants, for the contributions
that they make. They are our neighbors, they are family members,
they are residents, They attend our schools, they work here.
(05:51):
They lift up our economy, and in a time of
a lot of uncertainty, I think we're seeing herculean efforts
in our community to keep our families safe. We're seeing
neighbors engage and rapid response networks to ensure that know
your Rights information is widely available. We're seeing community members
and mutual aid form to make sure that folks that
don't feel safe being able to leave their phone have
(06:14):
access to food, to medicine. We're seeing our legal community
wrap around itself around our neighbors to ensure that they
have representation and have all their constitutional rights. And I
think it's the way of saying that as legislators, we
also understand our role in pushing back against the administration,
and so we're creative in partnership with all of the
forces that I just talked about, because that's the kind
(06:35):
of co governance that's being asked of us in this moment,
is to explore and leave no wrap and turned in
terms of what we can do to continue to maintain
illinois lng legacy of being a welcome state and one
that resource of their people.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
That takes me right too. My next question, with the
fall legislative session just a couple of weeks away, in
the next spring session not far behind it, are there
any initiatives you are already working on now or that
you planned to work on over the next few months
to continue to expand protections for immigrants here in Illinois.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
We'll have more information soon. We are talking with our
partners about these issues. One of the things that a
lot of folks are concerned about is masked agents roving
our cities in Illinois. There's definitely a lot of fear
around it because if someone comes to your door, to
your car, STAPs you, and they're a masked agent, you
have really no way of knowing if they're a federal authority,
(07:24):
local authority, or no authority, just someone taking advantage of
the moment. So that is instilling a lot of fear
in our communities. There's a lot of folks that want
us to address this issue. So we're looking at the
legalities involved with addressing this issue, since it is a
federal law enforcement who has in these last few months
been engaging in this activity of masking their face, covering
(07:46):
their names, their badges, and for folks not to know
who they are. And we again can only go so
far with telling a federal agent as Illinois legislating what
a federal agent can can't do. But here in Illinois
we can decide how we will be different our law enforcement,
how our local law enforcement will engage with our communities.
So we're looking at that issue very closely.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
We're in conversation with our community members, with immigrant serving organizations,
with legal community. So I do anticipate that there will
be a lot more that we build between now and October.
But the other states that I think that all looked
up is that just in the first couple of months
of the Trump administration, we are seeing unprecedented need in
(08:26):
our community. So our immigrant Service Line, our welcoming centers,
our legal resources, these are all assets that I think
we're forward thinking investments from our state to ensure that
immigrants and families have what they need in the state.
And so that's going to be something that we continue
to champion, just knowing that they're being well used in
this moment and we'll want to continue to ensure that
(08:46):
they're there for us on this folk set.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
Made and I also mentioned that the Secretary of State
recently release a statement around a release of data outside
of the bounds of what is expected about the information
that they receive. And this is all tied to the
fact that all of our information is being digitized and
shared among different corporations, and so he did release a
statement around concern around I think it was about two
hundred data hits that looked like they were coming from
(09:10):
Texas and this could be regarding abortion rights LGBTQ rights,
immigration issues, and so there is a very concern that
data is being shared, and so we were helped to
partner with the Secretary of State, who's shown some outrage
around this and wants to make sure we close those
loopholes that exist and that area, but there's also other
areas that we're concerned that there are still loopholes. Again,
(09:31):
our information is all digitized, and law enforcement agencies are
sharing corporations are sharing it, and we want to make
sure they're not sharing it for nevarious purposes and that
Illinois is not being used as a conduit for that.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
Almost out of time for our conversation today, Final thoughts,
Representative Jimnez, We'll start with you.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
I think I just wanted to say a little bit
about the human aspect of it. The night after Trump
was inaugurated, was on a chat with the parents in
my son's school and just the terror that people felt.
Everyone one was scared, was asking me if they should
send their kids to school, if there was going to
be armed ice officers at the school. I mean, it
was just so terrifying and sad, and I was just
(10:07):
sitting in my home that evening just feeling so helpless,
but knowing that my role as a legislator can really
intervene and I can use my personal experiences and look
to talk to my neighbors about what they're experiencing. I
just have felt this just an honor to be able
to work on these issues. And as I go back
every day walking my son to school, talking to families
about the law that we pass, and they get so excited, Oh,
I saw you on Telemundo talking about this law to
(10:30):
protect our students or neighbors. It feels really good. It
doesn't feel like enough in this moment sometimes, and it's
just unbelievable that we would target children five six year
olds like my son, and that they would be afraid
to go to school. So I'm just so thankful that
the legislature passes Spill, that the governor signed it, and
that we live in the great state of Illinois that
really cares about humanity and children.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Senator Guzman, I think.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
Id I go so much of repunis as sentiment. I
think I talk often about my journey as the first
Subbragarine in the General Assembly, my parents escape Usdoran Civil War,
and I think thinking about that era where I was
growing up that tangible fear of not wanting to go
to school because I didn't know my parents would be
there when I got back, them being fearful to let
(11:12):
me go because of the same reason these are really
tangible fears. At the baseline, a lot of our community
is making those decisions around what for many of us,
our daily decisions to go to the store to get
the food that we need, to leave our home to
get the healthcare that we deserve, to frequent businesses and community,
and with so many of the beautiful assets around us
(11:34):
right and so I'm really proud to have representatives and
electeds like clip unionists as mentors as I navigate my
first year, because I think what we see is a
marriage of her identity, her listening to our community, her resilience,
and her courage. And I think also that partnership with
immigrants serving organizations that know exactly what the solution is
(11:57):
in this moment. And I think that for me, is
gives me a lot of hope about how we can
continue to push back while also uplifting and affirming that
we're not shrinking. We are here, we are here to contribute,
and we're going to do that the ways that we
don't have, which is in community with one another. So
I'm really grateful for Representative Humanis and Senator Gari Naville
for their leadership on this bill. It was a really,
(12:19):
really tough one for a lot of reasons, and i
think their victory is our community's victory, and I'm just
so proud of that.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
State Senator Grounseialo Guzman, State Representative Lilian Jimenez, And thank
you for joining the Out of the State podcast today.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
Thank you, thanks so much.
Welcome to this episode of the Sound of the State
podcast from the Illinois Senate Democratic Caucus. I'm Colby Hoff,
joined on Zoom today by State Senator Graciela Gusman of
the twentieth District and State Representative Leline Jimenez of the
fourth District. Senator Guzman and Representative Jimenez led legislation in
their respective chambers of the General Assembly. I'll spell thirty
four to twenty seven, commonly referred to as the Safe
(00:20):
Schools for All Act, to protect immigrant children from having
their schooling interrupted by the targeted arrival of immigration authorities,
which was signed into law in August and takes effect
on January first. Senator Representative, Welcome to the podcast. We
know that the federal administration has made a point to
target immigrant communities across the nation since taking office in January,
particularly focusing on our neighbors in Chicago Land Recently. When
(00:43):
did conversations leading to the Safe Schools for All Act begin?
Speaker 2 (00:47):
We started thinking about it last November. Remember, we were
all talking about Trump proofing Illinois. So those conversations, right,
and we were thinking about in terms of our community,
the immigrant community, what way ways we could trump proof Illinois,
we know that we were also thinking about that in
terms of the LGBTQ community and so many of our
allied communities, and so in terms of immigrants. One of
(01:08):
the areas we knew was going to be hit hard
after the President took office was a drop in school attendance.
And then we actually did see that drop in school
attendance in January, and so we knew that this effort
to make sure families and students feel safe in schools
was going to be important at that time.
Speaker 3 (01:24):
Just to add me a little bit of context to
well ma pinion us laid out, I think that drop
in our school attendance was pretty abrupt and sustained. So
I think it gave us a really big snapshot right
at the top of the presidency about why this kind
of overarching legislation will be necessary. I know in both
of our districts, we had schools with somewhere between twenty
(01:45):
percent and not just fifty percent of students that were
nat able to come to school because of really grounded
fear about what could happen if they went about their
daily lives. And so as we continue chatting with schools,
and it was clear that year was also sustained it
wasn't just tied to whether an individual a straight had
a compurred in our community. And I think it really
(02:07):
speaks to again the voicing and the role that policy
have to help and share that we are doing everything
in our power as a legislature to protect our community.
This is the kind of guidance that schools, school districts,
community members ask of our leadership. And that's why I
was presented give.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Us some background on what the law will do once
it takes effect in the new year. What what we
see happen in response to decisions made by the federal
administration as a result of the Safe Schools for All Act.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Well, really what it does is offer protections to families
and security to know that Illinois will not take the
same route that the federal government has taken in terms
of terrorizing the immigrant community. Unfortunately, we've seen families here
in Illinois, a father torn away from his family at
gunpoint at his home. That kind of activity is terrorizing
(02:56):
in our community. So we wanted to make sure that
Illinois has a law that really clearly states that all
students have the rights to K through twelve education in
Illinois regardless of immigration status, and that schools have clear
policies to that end. And beyond that, how does that
in practice happen. Well, the school district has to have
a policy to ensure families that their information will not
(03:17):
be shared with federal immigration authorities. So that's what this
bill does, is ensure that school districts will create policies,
establish their clear guidelines with their staff. What would happen
if there was a federal ice enforcement at a school,
what the school frontline staff would do in those types
of situations, and so having that preparation ahead of time
(03:39):
is what creates a safe community. What creates the ability
for families to be able to feel comfortable sending their
children to school and they themselves feel comfortable walking their
children to school picking up their children. We have had
also an incident of somebody being picked up by ice
at school pickup. So what these policies do is create
an atmosphere of safety and also an ability of parents
(04:00):
to know where they can go and who they can
talk to and not have to continue to hide in
the shadows and keep their kids at home because they
would be afraid if they didn't know that their school
is a safe place that would be a problem, and
these policies create the ability for parents and families to know, Okay,
this is a safe place.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
What do you hope our immigrant community here in Illinois
takes away from this legislation and the efforts we are
making as a state in such uncertain times.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
We want to make sure that they hear it loud
and clear, and we echo the governor, and the governor
echoes us. Our mayor is echoing our governor, and we're
all singing from the same hymn book on the fact
that Illinois a safe and welcoming community. And that's why
it feels like this are so important, because we want
to have something to point to, to share with families
how we can protect them. We can't control what federal
(04:45):
ice officers do in our community, unfortunately, but what we
can do is control what our local response is. What
the leaders in our community. School districts are leaders, principles
are leaders, police officers, state police. These are the leaders
in our community, and so what we can do at
the state level is make sure they are armed with information,
They are armed with education, understanding of the community that
(05:06):
they are leading. And that's what these policies like the
Trust Act, Safe Schools for All. We have so many
laws on the books now that create that atmosphere and
also guidance right we want to make sure that our
local leaders understand what to do in these difficult circumstances.
It was also crafted in a way that supports local
communities so that they can have a policy in place,
they can have clarity, they can have transparency, and that
(05:27):
community members understand what they can expect from their local leaders.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
To repument us as point about expectations, and I think
many of our legislators want to ensure our immigrant families
fuel ultimately is supported or affirmed. I think our state
is stronger for the presence of immigrants, for the contributions
that they make. They are our neighbors, they are family members,
they are residents, They attend our schools, they work here.
(05:51):
They lift up our economy, and in a time of
a lot of uncertainty, I think we're seeing herculean efforts
in our community to keep our families safe. We're seeing
neighbors engage and rapid response networks to ensure that know
your Rights information is widely available. We're seeing community members
and mutual aid form to make sure that folks that
don't feel safe being able to leave their phone have
(06:14):
access to food, to medicine. We're seeing our legal community
wrap around itself around our neighbors to ensure that they
have representation and have all their constitutional rights. And I
think it's the way of saying that as legislators, we
also understand our role in pushing back against the administration,
and so we're creative in partnership with all of the
forces that I just talked about, because that's the kind
(06:35):
of co governance that's being asked of us in this moment,
is to explore and leave no wrap and turned in
terms of what we can do to continue to maintain
illinois lng legacy of being a welcome state and one
that resource of their people.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
That takes me right too. My next question, with the
fall legislative session just a couple of weeks away, in
the next spring session not far behind it, are there
any initiatives you are already working on now or that
you planned to work on over the next few months
to continue to expand protections for immigrants here in Illinois.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
We'll have more information soon. We are talking with our
partners about these issues. One of the things that a
lot of folks are concerned about is masked agents roving
our cities in Illinois. There's definitely a lot of fear
around it because if someone comes to your door, to
your car, STAPs you, and they're a masked agent, you
have really no way of knowing if they're a federal authority,
(07:24):
local authority, or no authority, just someone taking advantage of
the moment. So that is instilling a lot of fear
in our communities. There's a lot of folks that want
us to address this issue. So we're looking at the
legalities involved with addressing this issue, since it is a
federal law enforcement who has in these last few months
been engaging in this activity of masking their face, covering
(07:46):
their names, their badges, and for folks not to know
who they are. And we again can only go so
far with telling a federal agent as Illinois legislating what
a federal agent can can't do. But here in Illinois
we can decide how we will be different our law enforcement,
how our local law enforcement will engage with our communities.
So we're looking at that issue very closely.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
We're in conversation with our community members, with immigrant serving organizations,
with legal community. So I do anticipate that there will
be a lot more that we build between now and October.
But the other states that I think that all looked
up is that just in the first couple of months
of the Trump administration, we are seeing unprecedented need in
(08:26):
our community. So our immigrant Service Line, our welcoming centers,
our legal resources, these are all assets that I think
we're forward thinking investments from our state to ensure that
immigrants and families have what they need in the state.
And so that's going to be something that we continue
to champion, just knowing that they're being well used in
this moment and we'll want to continue to ensure that
(08:46):
they're there for us on this folk set.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
Made and I also mentioned that the Secretary of State
recently release a statement around a release of data outside
of the bounds of what is expected about the information
that they receive. And this is all tied to the
fact that all of our information is being digitized and
shared among different corporations, and so he did release a
statement around concern around I think it was about two
hundred data hits that looked like they were coming from
(09:10):
Texas and this could be regarding abortion rights LGBTQ rights,
immigration issues, and so there is a very concern that
data is being shared, and so we were helped to
partner with the Secretary of State, who's shown some outrage
around this and wants to make sure we close those
loopholes that exist and that area, but there's also other
areas that we're concerned that there are still loopholes. Again,
(09:31):
our information is all digitized, and law enforcement agencies are
sharing corporations are sharing it, and we want to make
sure they're not sharing it for nevarious purposes and that
Illinois is not being used as a conduit for that.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
Almost out of time for our conversation today, Final thoughts,
Representative Jimnez, We'll start with you.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
I think I just wanted to say a little bit
about the human aspect of it. The night after Trump
was inaugurated, was on a chat with the parents in
my son's school and just the terror that people felt.
Everyone one was scared, was asking me if they should
send their kids to school, if there was going to
be armed ice officers at the school. I mean, it
was just so terrifying and sad, and I was just
(10:07):
sitting in my home that evening just feeling so helpless,
but knowing that my role as a legislator can really
intervene and I can use my personal experiences and look
to talk to my neighbors about what they're experiencing. I
just have felt this just an honor to be able
to work on these issues. And as I go back
every day walking my son to school, talking to families
about the law that we pass, and they get so excited, Oh,
I saw you on Telemundo talking about this law to
(10:30):
protect our students or neighbors. It feels really good. It
doesn't feel like enough in this moment sometimes, and it's
just unbelievable that we would target children five six year
olds like my son, and that they would be afraid
to go to school. So I'm just so thankful that
the legislature passes Spill, that the governor signed it, and
that we live in the great state of Illinois that
really cares about humanity and children.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Senator Guzman, I think.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
Id I go so much of repunis as sentiment. I
think I talk often about my journey as the first
Subbragarine in the General Assembly, my parents escape Usdoran Civil War,
and I think thinking about that era where I was
growing up that tangible fear of not wanting to go
to school because I didn't know my parents would be
there when I got back, them being fearful to let
(11:12):
me go because of the same reason these are really
tangible fears. At the baseline, a lot of our community
is making those decisions around what for many of us,
our daily decisions to go to the store to get
the food that we need, to leave our home to
get the healthcare that we deserve, to frequent businesses and community,
and with so many of the beautiful assets around us
(11:34):
right and so I'm really proud to have representatives and
electeds like clip unionists as mentors as I navigate my
first year, because I think what we see is a
marriage of her identity, her listening to our community, her resilience,
and her courage. And I think also that partnership with
immigrants serving organizations that know exactly what the solution is
(11:57):
in this moment. And I think that for me, is
gives me a lot of hope about how we can
continue to push back while also uplifting and affirming that
we're not shrinking. We are here, we are here to contribute,
and we're going to do that the ways that we
don't have, which is in community with one another. So
I'm really grateful for Representative Humanis and Senator Gari Naville
for their leadership on this bill. It was a really,
(12:19):
really tough one for a lot of reasons, and i
think their victory is our community's victory, and I'm just
so proud of that.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
State Senator Grounseialo Guzman, State Representative Lilian Jimenez, And thank
you for joining the Out of the State podcast today.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
Thank you, thanks so much.
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