Immigration Enforcement Related Changes to the Public Higher Education Act

The Illinois General Assembly has approved House Bill 1312 (“HB 1312” or “the Bill”), amending the Illinois Public Higher Education Act (110 ILCS 167/et seq., “the Act”) which includes new January 1, 2026 deadlines for college procedures relating to immigration enforcement-related issues. HB 1312 also details obligations and prohibitions for public higher education institutions across the state related to immigration enforcement actions.

The Bill, pending signature from Governor Pritzker, adds Section 18 to the Act. Section 18 is largely focused on requiring colleges to develop procedures around law and immigration enforcement activity on campuses by January 1, 2026. For example, Section 18 requires colleges to develop procedures to address law enforcement requests to enter a college’s campus or for access or information about a student or employee. The Bill also requires procedures for notifying students or employees of law enforcement requests for access for immigration enforcement purposes, and notification of the appropriate college campus-unit or area if the college confirms that immigration enforcement activity is occurring. Finally, the Bill requires procedures for documenting all interactions with law enforcement. Colleges will be required to submit these procedures to the Illinois Community College Board, who will in turn be required to submit a report to the General Assembly by July 1, 2026.

In addition to the requirements for procedure development, the Bill further requires community colleges to provide resources on their website related to student and employee rights with respect to immigration enforcement. The information on the website must also identify a point of contact for students and employees to contact if a law enforcement agent seeks to enter campus or engage in nonconsensual interactions with members of the school community, including employees and students. The Bill similarly prevents colleges from impeding students or employees from offering, attending, or participating in training on constitutional rights and immigration-related guidance.

The Bill further prohibits disclosure, or threatened disclosure, of the actual or perceived immigration status of students, employees, or persons associated with students or employees, which is already prohibited by FERPA. The Bill broadly defines “citizenship or immigration status” to include “all matters regarding citizenship of the United States . . . including an individual’s nationality, country of citizenship, or status as an international student.”

Notably, the Bill provides civil recourse for disclosure or threatened disclosure of immigration status, including the award of actual damages if the court finds that the defendant willfully violated the applicable subsections, and allows for the recovery of reasonable attorneys’ fees.

If the Bill is signed before January 1, 2026, many of its requirements will go into effect that day.

Robbins Schwartz will continue to monitor the status of this Bill and has updated our Preparation for Immigration Enforcement Toolkit, which offers templates for procedures to comply with the Bill, and other guidance for colleges navigating interactions with immigration officials. Information about the Preparation for Immigration Enforcement Toolkit can be found here. For any other questions relating to HB 1312 or Robbins Schwartz’s Preparation for Immigration Enforcement Toolkit, please contact your Robbins Schwartz attorneys.