SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WTVO) — Starting January 1st, 2024, Illinois landlords will be required to rent or sell property to undocumented migrants.

The law adds immigration status as a protected class in the Illinois Human Rights Act.

According to The Center Square, more than 11,000 migrants from Central and South America have arrived in Illinois since last August, after being bused northward by border states.

“There’s always been a large number of refugees coming into this country before this particular crisis, and in the past, the capacity has been there to absorb these folks, so I’m not so worried that this will be a single factor that is going to create a huge increase in rent,” said Michael Glasser, of the Neighborhood Building Owner’s Alliance.

This year, the Illinois General Assembly has also passed legislation allowing noncitizens to obtain legal driver’s licenses and become police officers.

The state was forced to pause a program that subsidized healthcare for noncitizens after enrollment ballooned past the available funding.