The Trump administration has filed a lawsuit in Illinois targeting Chicago’s sanctuary laws.
According to the lawsuit, the sanctuary laws interfere with Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) means of arresting and deporting illegal immigrants.
Officials with the Justice Department told The New York Post, “We’ve identified Illinois, the city of Chicago and Cook County as all having laws and ordinances on the books that impede federal immigration enforcement, in particular the Chicago Welcoming ordinance, the Illinois Trust Act.”
The lawsuit says that Illinois’ local laws violate federal laws that “prohibit state and local governments from refusing to share information,” as well as “restrict local governments from sharing immigration information with federal law enforcement officials.”
The jurisdictions involved in the lawsuit “refuse to cooperate with detainers,” the official told The Post, adding, “so instead of handing over people who are in prison or in jail to federal immigration authorities they will just let folks go.”
“This lawsuit will put the spotlight on obstruction by state and local officials and their refusal to support the administration and compliance with the law. The law says people who are here illegally are not allowed to stay here, they should be deported. So we want to make sure those impediments are taken away,” the official said.
Prior to President Donald Trump’s inauguration, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson issued new guidelines for local agencies on handling visits from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. These guidelines include instructions to contact legal counsel, deny ICE entry into private or sensitive locations without a judicial warrant, and require the highest-ranking official on-site to handle ICE interactions.
Johnson has also been asked to testify before Congress on February 11 regarding Chicago’s status as a sanctuary city.
