The Justice Department sued Illinois and Chicago on Thursday over its “sanctuary city” laws, seeking to block policies that limit local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
The lawsuit names Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and challenges state and local laws that restrict authorities from holding suspects on immigration detainers or sharing detainee information with ICE.
Border Czar Tom Homan, who announced that about 11,000 people have been detained in the U.S. interior since Jan. 20, criticized sanctuary cities as “sanctuaries for criminals.”
Newly appointed Attorney General Pam Bondi threatened to cut federal funding to jurisdictions that impede immigration enforcement.