By: Baylee Krulewitz
Edited by: clark mahoney and Eliana Aemro Selassie
On February 6th, the US Justice Department sued the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago on grounds of interference with the Trump administration’s recent immigration enforcement policies. Specifically, the Justice Department claimed that Chicago’s status as a sanctuary city is unlawful. In response, Illinois governor JB Pritzker has stood his ground, claiming that the laws in place in Illinois are there to protect against violent crime as best they can.
“Sanctuary city” is a term that can often be thrown around quite loosely, especially in times of heated debate over immigration policy. Part of the reason for this confusion is that its definition is fairly ambiguous. The status of sanctuary city is one that any place can apply to itself, without having to check any boxes or fulfill any requirements. Generally, though, a sanctuary city is one where the municipality neglects to use its resources to fund federal immigration practices or crackdowns.
So, what are these sanctuary laws that the Justice Department is so upset about? In Chicago, the city follows the Welcoming City Ordinance, which states that “the City will not ask about your immigration status, disclose that information to authorities, or, most importantly, deny you City services based on your immigration status.”[1] On the state level, Illinois operates under the powerful TRUST Act, which Republican Governor Bruce Rauner signed into law in 2017. The law declared that “law enforcement shall not stop, arrest, search, detain or continue to detain a person solely due to immigration status.”[2] The intention behind this act was to improve relations between immigrants of all citizen statuses and law enforcement officers, in hopes of getting the two to team up against violent crime. The act requires a warrant from a judge before allowing detainment by law enforcement, in an attempt to make the minimization of violence the top priority for police forces. In a press release from the governor’s office announcing the signing of the act, it was made very clear that the act is not meant to estrange Illinois law enforcement from federal law enforcement, saying, “The TRUST Act makes clear that Illinois will be a good partner with the federal government, and law enforcement will continue communicating with federal immigration and law enforcement officials.”[3] However, this principle has disintegrated in recent times.
In its lawsuit against the state of Illinois, the Justice Department asserts that the state violates the Supremacy Clause of the US Constitution, which states that federal law is the supreme law of the land. In other words, the lawsuit says that the TRUST Act is failing to do the very thing it set out to do: balance the well-being of Illinois residents with compliance with federal law. In response to the lawsuit, Gov. Pritzker provided a direct attack on President Trump, stating “Unlike Donald Trump, we follow the law in Illinois. Now, maybe they put up with this kind of garbage in Florida, which is the home state of the head of the DOJ, but in Illinois we have grit, we are tough, we are strong and Donald Trump has no idea what he is up against when he attacks Illinois.”[4] So, just a few action-packed weeks into Trump’s second presidency, Illinois and its administration are already at odds with the federal government.
So what now? US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has already begun Trump-ordered sweeps in Chicago, with over 100 people already having been detained since the new administration began.[5] Soon after the lawsuit was cast, the ACLU of Illinois issued a statement demonstrating support for the TRUST Act as well as Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance, highlighting the role of these legislative acts in limiting violent crime.[6] So, both sides of the fight over immigration policy in this country have gritted their teeth, indicating that this battle will be long, complex, and worrisome not just for the people of Illinois, but for Americans across the nation.
NOTES:
1. Anon. “Sanctuary Cities FAQs.” Chicago.gov. https://www.chicago.gov/content/dam/city/depts/mayor/Office%20of%20New%20Americans/PDFs/SanctuaryCitiesFAQs.pdf
2. Anon. 2017. “Gov. Rauner Signs TRUST Act.” Illinois.gov. August 28, 2017 https://www.illinois.gov/news/press-release.14747.html
3. Anon. 2017. “Gov. Rauner Signs TRUST Act.” Illinois.gov. August 28, 2017 https://www.illinois.gov/news/press-release.14747.html
4. Lisette Nuñez. 2025. “Illinois Governor JB Pritzker responds to 'garbage' DOJ lawsuit over sanctuary city policies. ABC7. February 7, 2025 https://abc7chicago.com/post/illinois-governor-jb-pritzker-responds-garbage-doj-lawsuit-sanctuary-city-policies/15877508/
5. Lisette Nuñez and Craig Wall. 2025. Mayor reaffirms Chicago's welcoming city status amid ICE raids; at least 100 arrested in area. ABC7. January 28, 2025. https://abc7chicago.com/post/ice-chicago-immigration-raids-today-arrests-continue-mayor-brandon-johnson-called-testify-sanctuary-city-policy/15843173/
6. Anon. 2025. ACLU of Illinois responds to Trump administration lawsuit challenging state and local policies prioritizing public safety over federal civil immigration enforcement. ACLU Illinois. February 6, 2025. https://www.aclu-il.org/en/press-releases/aclu-illinois-responds-trump-administration-lawsuit-challenging-state-and-local
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
“Sanctuary Cities FAQs.” Chicago.gov, https://www.chicago.gov/content/dam/city/depts/mayor/Office%20of%20New%20Americans/PDFs/SanctuaryCitiesFAQs.pdf
“Gov. Rauner Signs TRUST Act.” Illinois.gov, August 28, 2017, https://www.illinois.gov/news/press-release.14747.html
“Illinois Governor JB Pritzker responds to 'garbage' DOJ lawsuit over sanctuary city policies.” ABC7, February 7, 2025, https://abc7chicago.com/post/illinois-governor-jb-pritzker-responds-garbage-doj-lawsuit-sanctuary-city-policies/15877508/
“Mayor reaffirms Chicago's welcoming city status amid ICE raids; at least 100 arrested in area.” ABC7, January 28, 2025, https://abc7chicago.com/post/ice-chicago-immigration-raids-today-arrests-continue-mayor-brandon-johnson-called-testify-sanctuary-city-policy/15843173/
“ACLU of Illinois responds to Trump administration lawsuit challenging state and local policies prioritizing public safety over federal civil immigration enforcement.” ACLU Illinois, February 6, 2025, https://www.aclu-il.org/en/press-releases/aclu-illinois-responds-trump-administration-lawsuit-challenging-state-and-local
