immigration

  Applications by immigrants living in Illinois who want to become citizens are on the rise, and the presidential race may be playing a role. 

The federal government has seen a twenty five percent increase in citizenship applications from Illinois compared with other years, says Breandán McGee with the Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. 

McGee says he thinks Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's remarks about Mexicans and building a wall on the U.S. Mexico border are a large factor since most immigrants in the state are Latino. 

Immigration status alone will no longer be a valid reason for the Illinois State Police to detain someone, under an order issued Monday by Gov. Pat Quinn. 

In the executive order, Quinn says that "community policing efforts are hindered" when immigrants who are victims of, or witness, crimes are wary of cooperating for fear they'll be deported.

Quinn's order only applies to agencies under the governor's control: state troopers and conservation police.

Illinois Governor-elect Bruce Rauner is weighing in on the national immigration debate. Rauner spoke to reporters at a conference for Latinos involved in state government Friday. Rauner - a Republican - talked with members of his own party who serve in Washington, D.C. 

A somewhat unlikely coalition is calling on Illinois' Congressional delegation to support an overhaul of the nation's immigration policy. 

The U.S. issues a special type of temporary visa for high-skilled workers, like the engineers and scientists Caterpillar is trying to hire.

But there's a limit on so-called H-1B visas -- a cap that Caterpillar attorney Mark Peters say the Fortune 500 company reached all too quickly.

A bi-partisan Senate effort to come up with an immigration reform plan is getting a good reception -- but some members of Congress are hanging back in their support until they know more details.