119-sres451

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 451 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
S. RES. 451

Condemning attacks on Federal law enforcement in the State of Illinois.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 October 15, 2025

 Mr. Scott of Florida (for himself and Mrs. Blackburn) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the 
 Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

 RESOLUTION

Condemning attacks on Federal law enforcement in the State of Illinois.

Whereas the Constitution of the United States establishes and assigns to the 
 Federal Government the exclusive authority to regulate immigration and 
 naturalization;
Whereas Immigration and Customs Enforcement (referred to in this preamble as 
 ``ICE'') is authorized under Federal law to execute the lawful 
 deportation and removal of criminal aliens who have violated the 
 immigration laws of the United States;
Whereas State and local policies that seek to nullify or obstruct Federal 
 immigration enforcement violate the Constitution and the principles of 
 federalism;
Whereas the situation in the State of Illinois, particularly in and around the 
 city of Chicago, has deteriorated to a point where Federal facilities 
 and personnel can no longer operate without significant protection and 
 public safety has collapsed;
Whereas the city of Chicago has experienced catastrophic levels of violent 
 crime, with 5,220 homicides between 2017 and 2024, an average of 652 per 
 year, exceeding the annual combat deaths of United States forces in Iraq 
 (435 per year from 2003 through 2010) and Afghanistan (141 per year from 
 2001 through 2014);
Whereas Chicago has become what can only be described as a combat zone, with 
 certain police districts experiencing homicide rates exceeding 70 per 
 100,000 residents;
Whereas the Cook County State Attorney's office implemented pro-criminal 
 policies from 2017 through 2022 that have caused a dramatic increase in 
 violent crime, including an increase in average annual homicides from 
 510 homicides from 2011 through 2016 to 652 homicides from 2017 through 
 2024, and an increase in reported rapes from an average of 1,486 per 
 year from 2014 through 2016 to 1,804 per year from 2017 through 2022;
Whereas these prosecutorial policies included releasing violent criminals 
 without appropriate bail and consequences, as well as undermining 
 Illinois felony retail theft statutes by unilaterally raising the 
 prosecution threshold from $300 to $1,000 in 2017, resulting in a 
 dramatic increase in retail theft across the city;
Whereas such negligent criminal justice policies have created an environment in 
 which violent criminals, including criminal aliens subject to 
 deportation, operate with impunity;
Whereas Federal facilities in Illinois, including those directly supporting ICE, 
 have come under coordinated assault by violent groups intent on 
 obstructing Federal law enforcement activities;
Whereas these groups have sought to impede the deportation and removal of 
 criminal aliens through violent demonstrations, intimidation, and 
 sabotage of Federal operations;
Whereas these violent activities are increasing in frequency and intensity, 
 threatening the safety of Federal law enforcement and personnel and 
 compromising the integrity of Federal operations;
Whereas, while peaceful protest and political activism are protected rights 
 under the Constitution, such rights do not extend to violent assaults on 
 Federal facilities, intimidation of Federal law enforcement, or sabotage 
 of lawful operations;
Whereas acts of lawlessness and anarchy cannot be disguised as activism and 
 political violence cannot be legitimized;
Whereas certain far-left State and local governments operate under a distorted 
 understanding of federalism that runs only 1 way, demanding and 
 expecting Federal funding and assistance while rejecting any reciprocal 
 obligation to cooperate with Federal law enforcement agencies to ensure 
 public safety and protect the lives of their residents;
Whereas the success of Federal law enforcement operations in Washington, DC, 
 which resulted in a nearly 60-percent reduction in homicides and a 17-
 percent decrease in violent crime following enhanced Federal enforcement 
 beginning August 7, 2025, demonstrates that dramatic crime reduction is 
 possible when there is political will to enforce the law;
Whereas the Mayor of Chicago has signed an Executive order preventing city 
 cooperation with Federal immigration authorities and has repeatedly 
 affirmed the city's intent to resist lawful ICE operations;
Whereas the National Fraternal Order of Police, the largest police union in the 
 country, has condemned orders that prevent Chicago officers from 
 assisting ICE when agents face violent resistance, endangering both 
 Federal officers and the public;
Whereas the Governor of Illinois has demonized brave Federal law enforcement 
 agents, including by publicly calling them ``jackbooted thugs'';
Whereas ICE is facing a 500-percent increase in assaults while carrying out 
 enforcement operations;
Whereas these activities are not occurring in isolation but are similar to 
 ongoing efforts in multiple other States and cities around the country 
 to disrupt the faithful enforcement of Federal law;
Whereas such obstruction threatens public safety, particularly in disadvantaged 
 communities that bear the brunt of violent crime; and
Whereas the Federal Government has both the authority and the obligation to 
 ensure that Federal law enforcement personnel can execute their lawfully 
 assigned duties without violent interference and that the residents of 
 Illinois, particularly those in the most vulnerable communities, are 
 protected from rampant violent crime: Now, therefore, be it
 Resolved, That the Senate--

    (1) condemns all attacks on Federal law enforcement in the 
 State of Illinois;

    (2) recognizes that the State Government of Illinois and 
 the city Government of Chicago have failed in their fundamental 
 obligation to protect their residents from violent crime;

    (3) commends the brave men and women of Federal law 
 enforcement and all support personnel for their heroic work 
 during this public safety crisis in Illinois;

    (4) condemns any and all efforts by State or local 
 governments, or by organized groups to obstruct, impede, or 
 interfere with the lawful execution of Federal immigration law 
 enforcement operations;

    (5) condemns the implementation of pro-criminal 
 prosecutorial policies that have contributed to the dramatic 
 increase in violent crime in Chicago;

    (6) condemns the prioritization of politics over the safety 
 and well-being of Illinois residents, particularly those in 
 vulnerable communities;

    (7) reaffirms the exclusive authority of the Federal 
 Government to regulate immigration and to enforce immigration 
 laws;

    (8) recognizes that the Federal Government has a 
 responsibility to protect all people of the United States from 
 violent crime, particularly when State and local governments 
 have abdicated this fundamental obligation through the 
 implementation of failed criminal justice policies;

    (9) supports all necessary measures to protect Federal law 
 enforcement personnel and Federal facilities in Illinois from 
 violent assault, intimidation, and obstruction;

    (10) supports the prosecution, to the fullest extent of 
 Federal law, of all individuals and groups who engage in 
 violence, intimidation, or sabotage against Federal law 
 enforcement; and

    (11) encourages all State and local governments to support 
 and protect our brave Federal law enforcement officers and 
 support staff.
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