Trump DOJ slaps Illinois, Chicago with lawsuit over sanctuary laws

The Department of Justice on Thursday filed a lawsuit against the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago for allegedly interfering with federal immigration enforcement – the latest escalation in the battle between the Trump administration and Democrat-led cities and states over the administration's mass deportation operation.

The lawsuit filed in Illinois, against Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and others, claimed that several state and local laws are "designed to and in fact interfere with and discriminate against the Federal Government's enforcement of federal immigration law in violation of the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution."

President Donald Trump declared a national emergency at the southern border on day one of his administration as part of a slew of moves to crack down on illegal immigration and increase border security. The lawsuit claims there is a national crisis of illegal immigrants entering the U.S. and presenting "significant threats to national security and public safety."