Trump admin sues Chicago over illegal sanctuary city policies

According to the New York Post, the Trump administration has filed a lawsuit against state of Illinois, Cook County, as well as the city of Chicago for their sanctuary status laws that "interfere" with the deportation of illegal immigrants by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The Justice Department told the outlet that this lawsuit was the first of many to come from the Trump administration. “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,” an official from the DOJ told the outlet.

Ordinances cited in the Trump administration's lawsuit ties the hands of ICE and other immigration officials in the pursuit of carrying out the arrest and deportation of illegal immigrants. One cited is the Illinois Trust Act, which was made law in 2017. It reads, "State law does not currently grant State or local law enforcement the authority to enforce federal civil immigration laws."

Chicago also has an ordinance that was passed in 2012 that states, “No agency or agent shall: arrest, detain or continue to detain a person solely on the belief that the person is not present legally in the United States."

The lawsuit says that the local and state laws are contrary to federal statute that prohibits "state and local governments from refusing to share information," and "restrict local governments from sharing immigration information with federal law enforcement officials."

The official at the DOJ noted, “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," adding that it could end up at the Supreme Court.

Attorney General Pam Bondi told the Post, "For too long, leaders in Illinois and Chicago have abused their power by putting the comfort of illegal aliens over the safety and welfare of their own citizens. This ends today. The Department of Justice will no longer stand by as state and local leaders obstruct federal law enforcement efforts, endangering their citizens and the brave men and women in uniform."

“If you are a leader of a state or local jurisdiction that obstructs or impedes federal law enforcement, you will be next," she added.