Updated June 20, 2025 at 4:35 PM EDT
The Department of Justice is suing the City of Chicago, the state of Illinois and Cook County over their "sanctuary laws" that limit cooperation with immigration authorities.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in federal court in Illinois, accuses those jurisdictions of "making it more difficult for, and deliberately impeding, federal immigration officers' ability to carry out their responsibilities."
Responding to the lawsuit, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker's office said in a statement: "The bipartisan Illinois TRUST Act, signed into law by a Republican governor, has always been compliant with federal law and still is today. ... Instead of working with us to support law enforcement, the Trump Administration is making it more difficult to protect the public, just like they did when Trump pardoned the convicted January 6 violent criminals. We look forward to seeing them in court."
President Trump and his appointees have often threatened to punish "sanctuary cities" and states before. During the first Trump administration, the Justice Department tried to withhold funding from those jurisdictions -- but they fought back and were often able to defeat those efforts in court.
Chicago has been a focus for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations since President Trump returned to office, spreading fear in immigrant communities and schools across the city and beyond.
Mayor Brandon Johnson told NPR's Morning Edition that Chicago will stand by its policies.
"We are firm in that our police department will not intervene or participate in any way" in immigration enforcement, Johnson said last month. "Whether you're undocumented, whether you are seeking asylum or whether you're seeking a good paying job, we're going to fight and stand up for working people."
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