AG Pam Bondi Takes Immediate Action, Sues Illinois and Chicago over Sanctuary City Policies
Newly confirmed Attorney General Pam Bondi took swift action on Thursday, suing Illinois and Chicago to enforce immigration law.
Bondi’s suit, one of her first actions in her post, contends the state’s and city’s sanctuary city policies are unlawful and seeks to have them deemed “invalid.”
“I will restore integrity to the Justice Department, and I will fight violent crime throughout this country and throughout this world and make America safe again,” Bondi said Wednesday after being sworn in as attorney general.
Justice Department filed the complaint in Chicago federal court.
“By refusing to honor civil detainers and warrants expressly authorized by Congress, Defendants have unlawfully eliminated these means for federal immigrations officials to carry out their statutory functions,” the complaint stated.
“Both the Governor of Illinois JB Pritzker and Mayor of Chicago Brandon Johnson, sued here 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,” the 23-page-lawsuit contended. “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 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,” according to the lawsuit.
The Washington Post reported on the lawsuit:
The lawsuit appears to be the first that the Justice Department has filed after vowing to investigate state and local officials for allegedly interfering with President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Acting deputy attorney general Emil Bove warned in a memo during the first days of the Trump administration that officials in so-called sanctuary cities could face legal action if they undermine federal immigration laws.
The lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois alleges that multiple state and local laws are “designed to and in fact interfere with and discriminate against the Federal Government’s enforcement of federal immigration law.”
WMAQ 5 Chicago reported on how the lawsuit is supported by the Laken Riley Act, which President Trump signed into law last week:
The lawsuit specifically notes President Donald Trump’s recent signing of the Laken Riley Act, which requires the detention of unauthorized immigrants accused of theft and violent crimes.
Adopted in 2017, the Illinois Trust Act prohibits police in Illinois from detaining or arresting a person based on their immigration status or on federal immigration detainer. The Way Forward Act requires law enforcement agencies to submit annual reports to the Illinois Attorney General’s office about their compliance with the act.
Last month, ICE reported that “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, along with federal partners, including the FBI, ATF, DEA, CBP and the U.S. Marshals Service, began conducting enhanced targeted operations today in Chicago to enforce U.S. immigration law and preserve public safety and national security by keeping potentially dangerous criminal aliens out of our communities.”
ICE reported more than 3,500 arrests during Trump’s first week in office.
Wendell Husebo is a political reporter with Breitbart News and a former RNC War Room Analyst. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality. Follow Wendell on “X” @WendellHusebø or on Truth Social @WendellHusebo.
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