A federal judge on Friday dismissed President Trump’s lawsuit against the state of Illinois and Governor Pritzker over sanctuary city laws.
US District Judge Lindsay Jenkins, a Biden appointee, dismissed the lawsuit and said federal laws do not force states to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.
“Defendants’ motions to dismiss are granted. The individual defendants are dismissed because the United States lacks standing to sue them with respect to the Sanctuary Policies; Cook County Board of Commissioners is dismissed because it is not a suable entity separate from Cook County,” the judge wrote.
Politico reported:
A federal judge has thrown out the Trump administration’s bid to force Illinois and Chicago to aid its mass deportation agenda, saying it would encroach on autonomy guaranteed to states under the Constitution.
U.S. District Judge Lindsay Jenkins concluded that the lawsuit — the first filed by the administration this year trying to upend so-called “sanctuary policies” in states and cities — was an “end-run around the Tenth Amendment,” which protects states from federal government overreach.
In a 64-page ruling Friday, the Biden-appointed judge said federal laws “permit” states to cooperate with the federal government on immigration enforcement, but do not require it. Therefore, states can’t be forced to partner with federal efforts, she said, citing a series of Supreme Court rulings that block the federal government from “commandeering” state or local officials to perform federal duties.
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