GOP Lawmakers React to Trump Suing Their State Over Laws That ‘Obstruct’ ICE Arrests

The Trump administration is fighting sanctuary policies with a lawsuit against Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, both Democrats. Illinois Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives are praising the action.  

“Gov. Pritzker and Mayor Johnson have failed to enforce the laws of our country allowing illegal immigrants to flood our communities,” Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Ill., told The Daily Signal. 

The Trump administration is suing the state of Illinois, Cook County, and the city of Chicago over state and local laws that “interfere” with “the Federal Government’s enforcement of federal immigration law,” according to the lawsuit that was first reported by the New York Post.  

“The blatant violation of our immigration laws has enabled criminals, drug cartels, and human traffickers to enter our communities and live among our children, family, and friends,” LaHood said. “Under President [Donald] Trump, this will not be tolerated. I applaud the Department of Justice’s decision to sue the City of Chicago, the state of Illinois, and Cook County and I look forward to working with the administration to ensure the laws of the land are fully enforced.” 

According to the lawsuit, the “challenged provisions of Illinois, Chicago, and Cook County law reflect their intentional effort to obstruct the Federal Government’s enforcement of federal immigration law and to impede consultation and communication between federal, state, and local law enforcement officials that is necessary for federal officials to carry out federal immigration law and keep Americans safe.”  

The Trump administration is “[f]ighting to make our state and its largest city a safer place for legal citizens,” Rep. Mike Bost, one of just three Republicans representing Illinois in Congress, wrote on X in response to the suit.  

“JB Pritzker and Brandon Johnson are not above the law,” Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., wrote on X Thursday. Miller thanked Trump and newly sworn-in U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi “for taking decisive action to make Illinois safe again!” 

Trump’s Justice Department singled out multiple state and local laws, including the Way Forward Act, TRUST Act, Welcoming City Act, and Cook County Ordinance 11-O-73, that are interfering with the Trump administration’s efforts to arrest and remove illegal aliens.  

In 2021, Pritzker signed a bill to “strengthen the TRUST Act and make Illinois the second state in the nation to require local officials to end partnerships with [Immigration and Customs Enforcement].”  

Pritzker also created the Welcoming Illinois Office “to make Illinois a more welcoming and equitable state for immigrants and refugees.” 

The lawsuit argues that the “Illinois Way Forward Act and TRUST Act both impede the Federal Government’s ability to regulate immigration and take enforcement actions against illegal aliens by preventing state law enforcement officials from assisting with federal civil immigration enforcement.” 

As cited in the suit, Pritzker has said publicly that he does not want violent convicted criminal illegal aliens living in his state and does believe such individuals should be deported, and yet, the lawsuit contends, that laws in Illinois “provide otherwise.”  

Pritzker wrote on X shortly after the Trump administration filed the lawsuit that “the day after the election, I made a promise to the people of Illinois: when it comes to threats to our freedom, health, or security, if you come for my people, you come through me.” 

Under the leadership of Trump’s border czar Tom Homan, ICE agents have arrested thousands of illegal aliens, many of whom are criminals, since Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.  

Homan has asked for the corporation of state and local leaders as ICE and other law enforcement officials carry out arrests of illegal aliens, but if elected leaders don’t help, Homan warns they should “get out of the way.”  

“Do not impede our operations. Do not knowingly conceal or harbor illegal aliens, because we will seek prosecution,” Homan said on Fox News Thursday.  

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