First Federal Lawsuits Filed Against 'Sanctuary Cities/States' and Chicago Wins the Honors

SHOTS FIRED!

And it’s awesome.

As I told you yesterday, newly sworn-in US Attorney General Pam Bondi got to her office yesterday afternoon and was firing off orders and issuing memorandums within what seemed like minutes. One of her first acts was to spike the funding for sanctuary cities, refusing to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. Bondi also authorized investigations into officials impeding those law enforcement actions.

…Importantly, she’s also directing Justice to ‘investigate all jurisdictions that are impeding law enforcement’ and ‘prosecute when necessary.’

This Trump cabinet team is nothing if not prepared for business well before they inherit the drapes of their predecessors.

It seems Round Two of the anti-Sanctuary City action commenced this morning, as Bondi filed the very first federal lawsuits against Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle for interference in federal immigration enforcement. The top Chicago cop and the Cook County Sheriff were named, as well.

It’s not like she didn’t warn them beforehand.

🚨 | JUST IN: Trump’s DOJ sues Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson for blocking ICE from arresting and deporting illegal migrants.

Per @JennieSTaer, Attorney General Pam Bondi warned:

“If you are a leader of a state or local jurisdiction that… pic.twitter.com/1Er5iZQ9Ax

— Hank ™ (@HANKonX) February 6, 2025

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

Sanctuary states are officially on notice.

Oh, boy.

President Donald Trump’s Justice Department is suing Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, arguing their Democratic-controlled layers of government are interfering with federal immigration enforcement as the White House pursues a mass deportation campaign.

The federal lawsuit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Chicago claims sanctuary policies that bar local authorities from cooperating with the deportation effort are “exacerbating” a crisis at the U.S. southern border.

Pritzker, Johnson and Preckwinkle have vowed to uphold the state and city’s sanctuary laws, meaning local authorities won’t assist federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement in tracking down immigrants without legal status.

The Justice Department claims Illinois leaders have been “minimally enforcing — and oftentimes affirmatively thwarting” federal investigations, resulting in “countless criminals being released into Chicago who should have been held for immigration removal from the United States.” They want a court order barring state and local protections for immigrants.

“This national crisis underscores the vital importance of “[e]nforcing our Nation’s immigration laws,’” the suit states. “This action seeks to put an end to one State’s efforts to impede the Federal Government from doing that.”

…The lawsuit also named Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling and Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart as defendants. CPD officials declined to comment. Dart’s office couldn’t be reached.

Now, it’s not as if the Illinois/Chicago bunch of blowhards haven’t been talking enough big smack for long enough to earn themselves honors. I will say I haven’t heard much about Preckwinkle, but that’s probably because Johnson and Pritzker suck all the air out of any room they’re in with their bloviating.

Johnson, bear-of-little-brains that he is, has been waving a rhetorical red flag at Homan for months now. At the same time, the porculent Pritzker has been a meme-in-the-making with his expressed determination to stand between Illinois’s illegals and any feds who want to try coming to get them.

Such are the vociferous, valiant, and well-rounded defenders of the undocumented invaders in Illinois.

Their bluster is also why border security czar Tom Homan chose Chicago for his first raids a couple of weekends ago.

Not everyone in the city was upset at the thought of the feds removing criminal aliens from their neighborhoods. In fact, ICE and the agencies who worked with them were pretty popular.

How I feel about ICE here in the Chicago area…. pic.twitter.com/25iba9Db6W

— Sandy Bee 🐝 (@Sandy112470) January 29, 2025

Pritzker is defending the state, insisting that the Illinois law is completely compatible with the federal statutes.

…Pritzker said the state’s TRUST Act, the 2017 law which prohibits local police from assisting with immigration enforcement, “has always been compliant with federal law and still is today.”

“Unlike Donald Trump, Illinois follows the law,” Pritzker said in a statement. “Illinois will defend our laws that prioritize police resources for fighting crime while enabling state law enforcement to assist with arresting violent criminals. 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.”

But Bondi’s lawsuit presents a severe case of au contraire to the governor’s assertions by explicitly calling out that same Trust Act he references, along with Chicago’s much-ballyhooed ‘Welcoming Ordinance.’

…The suit singles out several state and local laws that the Justice Department identifies as inhibiting the federal government’s ability to enforce US immigration law.

“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,” a DOJ official said.

The city is still going over the lawsuit and not commenting, while Hizzoner insists that Chicago’s finest absolutely will not double as federal law enforcement.

NO, SIR – NOT DOIN’ IT

Now, I’m no legal expert – I only play one here at HotAir – but I think there may be some substance to AG Bondi’s point of view when one actually reads what the Illinois twins are saying is good to go.

Um…doesn’t sound that way to me.

…The Illinois Trust Act, signed into law in 2017, reads in part that “State law does not currently grant State or local law enforcement the authority to enforce federal civil immigration laws.”

Chicago’s Welcoming City ordinance, passed in 2012 by then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel, includes even more emphatic language, stating, “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,” among other provisions.

According to the suit, the local laws contradict federal laws that “prohibit state and local governments from refusing to share information,” as well as “restrict local governments from sharing immigration information with federal law enforcement officials,” which it claims prevents ICE and the Department of Homeland Security from identifying “individuals who may be subject to removal.”

The lady could have a point, particularly under the Constitution’s Supremacy clause.

I absolutely love Bondi starting a fight and throwing punches right out the gate. It means she’s backing Homan up, and everyone is working together.

It’s also going to cost these cities and states money to defend themselves that they don’t have for policies they can’t defend to their voters.

BREAKING: DOJ Files Lawsuits Against Sanctuary State Illinois AND City of Chicago

“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.” – AG Bondi pic.twitter.com/fsu38R32KM

— Border Hawk (@BorderHawkNews) February 6, 2025

SOLD!

After skating through the past administration chasing whatever fever dreams their little blue-tinted progressive hearts desired, I do not believe these cities and states are prepared for what is going to hit them.

LFG