Illinois Senate primary heats up as backlash grows over Trump immigration policies

Illinois Democrats are heading into a high-stakes Senate primary where anger over Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown has turned a once sleepy contest into a proxy fight over how far the party should go in confronting federal enforcement. What began as a routine race to fill a Class II Senate seat has become a test of whether voters want to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement outright or simply rein in what they see as Trump’s most aggressive tactics.

The outcome will help define not only who represents Illinois in Washington but also how Democrats nationally talk about deportations, detention contracts and the future of Trump’s immigration agenda.

Immigration backlash reshapes a crowded primary

The Illinois contest will decide who claims the Class II Senate seat on the ballot in November 2026, with the primary set for March 17 and the filing deadline already passed, according to Illinois election records. Eleven Democratic candidates are on the ballot, and three have separated from the pack in polls and fundraising.

Public outrage over Trump’s new immigration orders, which seek to hit aggressive deportation targets and expand cooperation with local police, has transformed the race. Those directives, described in recent reporting on, have triggered protests, legal challenges and a wave of organizing among immigrant communities.

Nationally, Trump has put immigration at the center of the 2026 midterms, and his moves have already been challenged in court and met with mass demonstrations that intensified after deadly enforcement fallout in Minneapoli, according to analysis of the broader midterm environment. In Illinois, Democrats are now channeling that anger into a primary that revolves almost entirely around what to do about Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Krishnamoorthi, Stratton and Kelly define the fault lines

At the heart of the fight are Representatives Raja Krishnamoorthi and Robin Kelly and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, who have become the main protagonists in an argument over whether to call for abolishing ICE outright or to focus on what some describe as “Trump’s ICE.” In a key debate earlier this year, the three clashed over the scope of enforcement, the role of federal contracts and how far Democrats should go in rewriting immigration law.

Krishnamoorthi has emerged as the early polling and fundraising leader in the field, according to a public policy poll that also showed the race tightening. He has framed his position as a push to “abolish Trump’s ICE,” arguing that the core mission of immigration enforcement should remain but that the current approach is corrupted by Trump’s directives and needs sweeping reform.

Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton has taken a more unapologetically progressive line, aligning herself with activists who want to dismantle the agency and replace it with a new system focused on humanitarian protections and due process. She is the only candidate in the race endorsed by sitting Illinois members of Congress and has secured the backing of Gov. JB Pritzker, according to a statement highlighting how surging in the.

Robin Kelly, another prominent House member from Illinois, has tried to stake out a middle ground. She has criticized Trump’s deportation push and raised concerns about racial profiling and civil rights, while stopping short of fully embracing an “abolish ICE” slogan that some Democrats view as politically toxic in swing areas.

The three candidates are not just debating slogans. They are arguing over specific contracts, such as a reported 30 million dollar ICE agreement with a private facility, and over whether Illinois Democrats should demand that local law enforcement cut ties with federal immigration task forces.

From Minneapolis fallout to Springfield stage

The policy argument is unfolding against a grim real-world backdrop. In Minneapolis, two U.S. citizens were killed during federal immigration enforcement earlier this year, an incident that has become a rallying point for activists who say Trump’s directives have made encounters more dangerous and less accountable.

In Springfield, that tragedy loomed over a televised debate where Illinois’ Democratic contenders clashed over ICE, Trump and even the actions of South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem. Coverage of the event described how the fallout from Minneapolis shaped questions about racial profiling, the use of force and whether state and local officials should cooperate with federal raids.

Voters watching from immigrant-heavy neighborhoods in Chicago and suburbs around Aurora and Joliet heard the candidates argue not just about what happened in Minneapolis but about how similar operations might play out in their own communities if Trump’s policies continue unchecked.

National progressives and local pressures

The Illinois primary is also drawing in national progressive figures. Senator Elizabeth Warren has become a touchstone for candidates who want to show they are serious about structural immigration reform and corporate accountability in detention contracts.

Advocates note that Warren’s calls for tougher oversight of private prison companies and for curbing Trump’s executive power over agencies like ICE have influenced how some Illinois contenders frame their own plans. Stratton in particular has echoed Warren-style rhetoric about corruption and profiteering in the detention system.

At the same time, Illinois Democrats operate in a state where Trump is deeply unpopular but where parts of downstate still respond to hard-line messages about border security. That tension runs through the primary, as candidates weigh how far they can go on “abolish ICE” without jeopardizing the party’s chances in the general election against a Republican like Don Tracy, who has aligned himself closely with Trump’s immigration priorities.

How Trump’s strategy is driving Democratic turnout

Trump’s decision to foreground immigration in the 2026 midterms has had a boomerang effect in Illinois. His push for mass deportations and expanded detention has energized Democratic voters who are seething over what they see as an assault on immigrant families, according to national reporting on how Trump’s immigration moves are reshaping the midterms.

Those same voters are now demanding more forceful opposition from their own party, which has put pressure on Krishnamoorthi, Stratton and Kelly to sharpen their critiques of Trump’s ICE. The debate has become less about whether Trump’s policies are wrong and more about how aggressively a Democratic senator from Illinois should try to dismantle them.

As Democratic activists in Nevada and other states rally behind figures like Ruben Gallego and JB Pritzker for taking hard lines on Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Illinois progressives argue that their own candidates should match that intensity. The question is whether the primary electorate will reward the boldest rhetoric or favor a nominee who promises to reform, rather than abolish, the agency.

Krishnamoorthi’s balancing act

Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi has tried to walk that line carefully. He has positioned himself as a critic of Trump’s deportation surge while emphasizing his experience on national security and oversight committees, arguing that he can both protect civil liberties and maintain a functioning enforcement system.

Krishnamoorthi’s argument is that abolishing ICE outright risks ceding the issue of border security to Republicans, who would then accuse Democrats of being reckless on public safety. Instead, he calls for repealing Trump’s directives, tightening rules on use of force and ending contracts with facilities that fail to meet basic standards.

His opponents say that approach does not go far enough after years of abuses and that only a clean break can restore trust in immigration enforcement. That critique has fueled Stratton’s rise and helped Robin Kelly keep a foothold among voters who want more sweeping change.

Stratton’s surge and the power of grassroots anger

Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, whose profile is captured in public biographical records, has leaned heavily into the moral argument against Trump’s ICE. She speaks frequently about families separated by detention, children afraid to go to school and the toll of raids on mixed-status households.

Her campaign has benefited from grassroots groups that emerged after the Minneapolis deaths and from networks that organized against Trump’s earlier travel bans. Those activists see Stratton as the candidate most aligned with their demand to abolish ICE and replace it with a system rooted in humanitarian law rather than criminal enforcement.

What Illinois tells the rest of the country

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*This article was developed with AI-powered tools and has been carefully reviewed by our editors.