The Illinois General Assembly sent to Gov. JB Pritzker’s desk legislation supporters say protects due process in wake of continued raids and arrests by agents with U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement in Illinois.

House Bill 1312 enables Illinois residents to sue immigration agents who violate their constitutional right to due process. The bill also protects against unreasonable searches and seizures.

Punitive damages can be increased if agents are wearing masks, concealing their identity, failing to wear a body camera or using a vehicle with non-Illinois or obscured license plates, according to Capitol News Illinois.

The bill, which passed both chambers with only Democrat support and unanimous Republican opposition on Oct. 31, also bans civil immigration arrests in and around state courthouses.

Since launching “Operation Midway Blitz,” more than 1,500 immigrants living in the Chicago without legal permission have been arrested, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Recent studies show only 16% of ICE detainees have any criminal history. Less than 7% are “labeled as the most serious threat concern in the ICE database,” according to NBC 5 Chicago.

While the legislation is certain to face legal challenges from the Trump Administration, advocates called it a strong symbolic victory.

Opponents said the legislation is an impediment to law enforcement.

“We are standing here because our communities have been living in fear – fear of being separated from their children, fear of being taken from their homes, fear of simply existing,” state Sen. Celine Villanueva, D-Chicago, said. “This bill is about giving people a sense of safety, a sense of humanity, and the assurance that their government sees them and will stand up for them.”

The bill prohibits civil immigration arrests inside and within 1,000 feet from state courthouses. Violators will incur statutory damages of $10,000.

State Sen. Chris Balkema, R-Channahon, said the legislation puts local families and law enforcement at risk.

“This new law makes it much harder for officers to target dangerous criminals and penalizes them for taking critical safety precautions,” Balkema said in a written statement.

“Tragically, it forces public servants into impossible situations where they must choose between following state mandates or federal law. We must pursue policies that make our communities safer, support our law enforcement officers, and ensure that everyone is treated equally under the law,” he said.

State Rep. Jed Davis, R-Yorkville, said the bill raises constitutional questions about the balance between state and federal authority and will certainly face court challenges.

“In my district, local departments may now think twice before assisting federal immigration officers, given the risk of being sued,” Davis said in a written statement.

“This hesitation creates real safety concerns as local law enforcement will likely disengage. If our governor had allowed state police to enforce federal law years ago, the conflict with ICE might not exist today – or at least not the extremes we’re witnessing," Davis said.

Advocates of the bill argue state and local law enforcement will not be affected because they are already legally banned from assisting or participating in civil immigration enforcement under the state’s TRUST Act, signed into law in 2017 by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner.

State Rep. Stephanie Kifowit, D-Oswego, said the bill is a matter of protecting Illinois’ citizens and upholding the Constitution.

“(ICE’s actions) are not making our nation stronger, they are undermining the fabric of our communities and wasting precious taxpayer dollars to create a spectacle of fear,” Kifowit said. “House Bill 1312 is an investment in stability, in the rule of law, and in the actual, tangible safety that comes from communities trusting their institutions, not fleeing from them.”

Cristobal Cavazos, executive director of Immigrant Solidarity DuPage, which operate’s the 200 member strong “people’s patrol” documenting ICE’s actions across the Chicago suburbs and surrounding counties, called the bill a “tremendous symbolic victory.”

“We’ve come across armed agents that are masked, swearing and pushing our patrollers,” Cavazos said. “We have to protect us from armed thugs being able to kidnap anybody. We’ve seen people with documents being taken by ICE just for having dark skin.”

Cavazos said it’s been a tragedy seeing so many people detained without warrants. He lamented that so many of them have no violent criminal record and are just pursuing a better life for themself and their families.

“I’d like to see this bill extended forward to help reign in the terror that we’ve seen the past few months,” Cavazos said. “ICE has gotten more violent. They feel they are above the law.”

In addition to the constitutional and due process protections, the legislation prohibits colleges, hospitals and child care facilities from disclosing the immigration status of students, patients, parents and children. Day care providers and public universities are required to notify parents and the community of immigration enforcement activity, according to Capitol News Illinois.

(Brenden Moore of Capitol News Illinois contributed to this article.)