Additional Resources

Twice a year I submit FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) requests to the Illinois Prisoner Review Board (PRB) to obtain clemency (pardon and sentence commutation) data. Last year there was little to celebrate if you (or someone you know) had a pending pardon petition.

With Gov. J.B Pritzker understandably preoccupied last year (e.g., serving on President Biden’s reelection committee, hosting the Democratic Party Convention, etc.), it won’t take much for him to better his 2024 clemency stats.

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Clemency is an act of forgiveness recognized under the Illinois Constitution. It is generally given to someone who has taken responsibility for their crime(s) and, over a period of years, turned their life around but continues to experience the adverse consequences of having a criminal record. Thus, to say that clemency is limited to cases involving “a miscarriage of justice” is simply false.

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Since March, the Trump Administration has targeted Green Card holders for detention and possible deportation for two primary reasons: 1) speech the government believes has “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States”; and 2) those who have a criminal (conviction) record. We will discuss both scenarios in this blog.

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Earlier this month a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) attorney assigned to the Office of the Pardon Attorney (OPA) was asked to identify candidates worthy of having their gun rights reinstated. The original list the pardon attorney provided contained 95 names, all of whom had pending pardon petitions and been vetted by the OPA staff.

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Although it’s been four years since I first wrote about obtaining a FOID card as a convicted felon, I still find myself spending a lot of time explaining to Illinois residents that there’s only one way to qualify for a FOID card when you have a disqualifying conviction: seek reinstatement of your gun rights by petitioning for clemency from the governor.

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What steps should a Legal Permanent Resident take after getting arrested?

• Immediately inform your defense attorney that you are not a U.S. citizen

• Try to find a defense attorney familiar with the immigration ramifications of being convicted of a crime

• If financially feasible, hire an immigration attorney to assist defense counsel in obtaining an outcome in the criminal case that will preserve your current and future immigration plans

• If a plea deal is to be negotiated, the prosecutor should be informed of your legal status, as well as the immigration consequences you are seeking to avoid

• If your case goes to trial before a judge or jury, the judge should be made aware of your legal status and attendant immigration consequences

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