Trump Administration Sues Sanctuary Jurisdictions for Illegal Immigrants... "Obstructing Immigration Law Enforcement"

The Donald Trump administration has filed a lawsuit against local governments led by Democratic officials, accusing them of not cooperating in the crackdown on illegal immigrants.

EPA Yonhap News

According to the Washington Post (WP) and CNN, on the 6th (local time), the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit in the Northern District Court of Illinois, claiming that the laws of the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago are unconstitutional because they obstruct the federal government's enforcement of immigration laws.

The local governments sued are led by Democratic officials and are known as relatively safe "sanctuaries" for undocumented immigrants because they do not cooperate with the federal government's immigration enforcement. The lawsuit targets laws that prohibit local government officials from participating in the federal government's immigration law enforcement.

In the case of Chicago, the city police are prohibited from arresting individuals based on their immigration status and limit the immigration information that can be shared with federal authorities.

The Department of Justice argued that several laws enacted by states and localities "are designed to obstruct and discriminate against the federal government's enforcement of federal immigration laws and are actually serving that role." It further claimed that these laws violate the constitutional provision that federal law takes precedence over local laws when there is a conflict.

The Trump administration has criticized so-called sanctuary jurisdictions and has warned of a strong response. This lawsuit is considered the first legal action taken in that context.

The conflict between the Trump administration and local governments over immigration issues also existed during Trump's first term. At that time, the Trump administration attempted to withhold federal funding allocated to sanctuary jurisdictions.