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The legal battle between the Trump administration and Democrat-controlled jurisdictions with sanctuary policies faced a setback on Friday when a federal judge in Chicago dismissed a case challenging their legality.
Judge Lindsay Jenkins of the Northern District of Illinois, appointed by President Biden, granted the defendants’ motion for dismissal, stating that the city’s ordinances are legal protections not subject to federal enforcement mandates.
The Trump administration had accused the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago in a February filing of unlawfully interfering with President Donald Trump’s efforts to crack down on illegal immigration for mass deportations.
U.S. District Judge Lindsay Jenkins in Illinois has dismissed a Trump administration lawsuit that sought to block Chicago’s limits on cooperation between local police and federal immigration authorities. (Getty; U.S. Senate)
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Sanctuary cities or sanctuary policies restrict cooperation between local officials, law enforcement, and federal immigration authorities. The Trump administration has criticized these measures, arguing that they create safe havens for criminal illegal immigrants and lead to increased crime.
The Justice Department alleged that these laws violate the U.S. Constitution’s “Supremacy Clause” under the Tenth Amendment, which states that federal law supersedes conflicting state and local laws.
However, Judge Jenkins disagreed with this argument, ruling that states have significant powers not explicitly granted to the federal government.
“Finding that these same Policy provisions constitute discrimination or impermissible regulation would provide an end-run around the Tenth Amendment,” the judge wrote. “It would allow the federal government to commandeer States under the guise of intergovernmental immunity — the exact type of direct regulation of states barred by the Tenth Amendment.”
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, along with other federal law enforcement agencies, attend a pre-enforcement meeting in Chicago, Illinois on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. ( Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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The Chicago City Council passed an ordinance in 2012 that prohibits city agencies and employees from participating in civil immigration enforcement or assisting federal authorities in such efforts. The Illinois legislature passed a similar state law, known as the TRUST Act, in 2017.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson expressed satisfaction with the decision, stating that the city is safer when police focus on the needs of Chicagoans.
“This ruling affirms what we have long known: that Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance is lawful and supports public safety. The City cannot be compelled to cooperate with the Trump Administration’s reckless and inhumane immigration agenda,” he said in a statement.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, left, said he was pleased with the decision and that the city is safer when police focus on the needs of Chicagoans. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images, left, and Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images, right.)
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The Trump administration has filed lawsuits against several jurisdictions over their sanctuary policies, including a recent filing against New York City. The administration has also sued several New Jersey cities, as well as Los Angeles.
Attorney General Pam Bondi mentioned that the federal government had to step in to protect New Yorkers since the state’s leaders were not taking action.
“If New York’s leaders won’t step up to protect their citizens, we will,” she wrote on X.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
