Trump's DOJ Suing Chicago, IL Over Sanctuary City Laws

CHICAGO — Stating several state and local laws are "designed to and in fact interfere with and discriminate against" the federal government's immigration enforcement policies, President Donald Trump's Department of Justice announced Thursday it is suing the City of Chicago, Illinois and Cook County.

The 22-page document, filed in Chicago federal court, specifically names the Way Forward Act, Trust Act, Welcoming City Act and a Cook County ordinance (11-073) as violating the U.S. Constitution.

"The challenged provisions of Illinois, Chicago, and Cook County law reflect their intentional effort to obstruct the Federal Government's enforcement of federal immigration law and to impede consultation and communication between federal, state, and local law enforcement officials that is necessary for federal officials to carry out federal immigration law and keep Americans safe," the lawsuit reads.

Trump's administration said earlier this week that more than 8,000 immigrants have been arrested by federal agents since Inauguration Day last month reports NBC News. Chicago and New York have been among the major U.S. cities where agents from federal agencies, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or Ice, have been called in to arrest immigrants.

The lawsuit contends the United States has the authority to regulate immigration matters, citing the U.S. Constitution, "numerous" acts of Congress and "binding" U.S. Supreme Court precedent. It also mentions the Laken Riley Act, passed by Congress last week, "mandates the federal detention of illegal immigrants who are accused of theft, burglary, assaulting a law enforcement officer, and any crime that causes death or serious bodily injury."

The lawsuit says both Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, who are being sued in their official capacities, "profess a shared interest with the Federal Government in enforcing immigration laws to effectuate the removal of such offenders from the United States."

Chicago's Welcoming City ordinance disallows authorities from asking citizens about their immigration status, disclose that information to authorities, or deny City services based on your immigration status.

"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," the lawsuit reads.