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The Trump administration sued officials in Illinois, Chicago, and Cook County on Thursday over policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement authorities, accusing them of obstructing its immigration crackdown.
It’s the first major challenge from the administration against Democratic-led cities and states that have opposed the use of local law enforcement to help the federal government enforce civil immigration laws. Trump officials have repeatedly criticized those policies, often singling out Chicago, where the administration recently conducted an immigration enforcement operation.
The Justice Department has said it plans to be aggressive against so-called sanctuary cities — a term broadly applied to places that have policies designed to limit cooperation with or involvement in federal immigration enforcement actions.
“The challenged provisions of Illinois, Chicago, and Cook County law have the purpose and effect of making it more difficult for, and deliberately impeding, federal immigration officers’ ability to carry out their responsibilities in those jurisdictions,” the lawsuit states.
The department is arguing that the state and local laws violate the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, which states that federal laws take precedence over state laws.
“The Supremacy Clause prohibits Illinois, Chicago, Cook County, and their officials from obstructing the Federal Government’s ability to enforce laws that Congress has enacted or to take actions entrusted to it by the Constitution,” the lawsuit reads.
The Justice Department is asking a federal judge to declare the laws unconstitutional and to temporarily block them while the litigation plays out.
Among the challenged provisions are state laws that prohibit Illinois law enforcement officials from engaging with federal officials on enforcement of civil immigration laws. State law, however, still requires Illinois officials to work with federal officials on enforcement of criminal laws.
The Justice Department argues in its complaint that the laws “impede the Federal Government’s ability to regulate immigration and take enforcement actions against illegal aliens by preventing state law enforcement officials from assisting with federal civil immigration enforcement.”
Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker said in a statement that the state “will defend our laws that prioritize police resources for fighting crime while enabling state law enforcement to assist with arresting violent criminals.”
“The bipartisan Illinois TRUST Act, signed into law by a Republican governor, has always been compliant with federal law and still is today,” Pritzker said. “We look forward to seeing them in court.”
CNN has reached out to Cook County and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office for comment.
This story has been updated with additional comment.
CNN’s Hannah Rabinowitz contributed to this report.
