Progress Illinois

Despite all the tough talk, the wave of anti-immigration rhetoric at the national level in recent years has done little more than play politics in the name of the undocumented, according to a report by the nonprofit Progressive States Network.

In their state-by-state look at recent immigration-related policies adopted across the country, the group found that lawmakers dealing with some of the smallest undocumented immigrant populations themselves have imposed the most punitive anti-immigrant measures. On the flip side, lawmakers in states with large immigrant populations -- such as Illinois -- have established some of the most progressive laws to protect workers and make health care and education accessible.

From the report, The Anti-Immigrant Movement That Failed:

The current hype around anti-immigrant policies is, unfortunately, about electoral politics. The media largely fell for the tactics of political opportunists who hoped to use the issue of immigration as a "wedge” issue, much as they have used gay marriage and other social issues to undermine progressive coalitions and support rightwing politicians during elections. Yet the result has largely been political failure for rightwing politicians trying to play the anti-immigrant political card. [...]

The bottom-line is that despite much media hype, the supposed wave of anti-immigrant politics has amounted to a few punitive laws in a handful of states, even as most states have quietly been moving forward with positive, integrative approaches to new immigrants in their communities.

The report lists both the "integrative" and "punitive" immigration policies implemented in each state.  Scroll down to Illinois to see how we stack up.