The Department of Justice sued Illinois and Chicago on Thursday. The lawsuit accuses them of blocking federal immigration enforcement. This escalates the fight between the Trump administration and Democrat-led cities.
The lawsuit targets Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Mayor Brandon Johnson, and others. It claims state and local laws interfere with federal immigration enforcement. The DOJ argues these laws violate the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
President Trump declared a national emergency at the border on his first day. His administration moved quickly to crack down on illegal immigration. The lawsuit says illegal crossings are a national crisis and a threat to security.
"Further exacerbating this national crisis, some of these aliens find safe havens from federal law enforcement detection in so-called Sanctuary Cities where they live and work among innocent Americans, who may later become their crime victims," it states.
Pritzker and Johnson have spoken about removing violent criminals. They say undocumented felons should be deported. The lawsuit argues their actions don’t match their words.
"Well, let me start by being clear that when we’re talking about violent criminals who’ve been convicted and who are undocumented, we don’t want them in our state. We want them out of the country. We hope they do get deported. And if that’s who they’re picking up, we’re all for it," Pritzker said last month.
"There's a federal law that clearly states if you are undocumented and you are convicted of a crime, you are subject to deportation. That's the law. I fully expect the federal government to uphold that law," Johnson said. "Being a welcoming city just simply states that our local police department will not behave as federal agents. There's a clear separation of powers there."
The lawsuit says state and local laws are meant to obstruct federal enforcement. It argues they block communication between law enforcement agencies. That interference, it claims, puts Americans at risk.
"Upon information and belief, the conduct of officials in Chicago and Illinois minimally enforcing—and oftentimes affirmatively thwarting—federal immigration laws over a period of years has resulted in countless criminals being released into Chicago who should have been held for immigration removal from the United States," the lawsuit states.