On February 6, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice sued the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago, alleging that their “sanctuary” policies obstruct federal law enforcement. The suit claims that the state’s Way Forward Act and TRUST Act, Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance, and Cook County’s “Policy for Responding to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Detainers,” obstruct federal agents from enforcing federal immigration laws. The TRUST Act, enacted in 2017, prohibits law enforcement from detaining individuals based solely on their immigration status and restricts officers from questioning a person’s immigration status. It also requires a court order for law enforcement to transfer a detainee into federal custody. Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance prohibits police from responding to ICE requests regarding an individual’s custody status or contact information and prevents authorities from arresting individuals based on their immigration status. The Way Forward Act, which became law in Illinois in August 2021, added new requirements and protections for immigrant communities to two existing laws: 1) the Illinois TRUST Act and 2) the Voices of Immigrant Communities Empowering Survivors Act. The Cook County policy prohibits ICE agents from accessing individuals or county facilities for investigative interviews and prohibits county personnel from communicating with ICE regarding individuals’ incarceration status or release dates.

The lawsuit asserts that state 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.”

But longstanding U.S. Supreme Court precedent establishes that it is unconstitutional for the federal government to commandeer states to enforce federal laws, and immigration law is federal law. To that end, proponents of laws like those at issue in Illinois point out that states and localities have the right to set their own policing priorities and protocols. Numerous jurisdictions choose not to partner in carrying out federal immigration operations for a host of reasons, including a need to foster trust with local communities to advance local safety priorities.

On July 25, 2025, U.S. District Judge Lindsay Jenkins dismissed the case after determining that the United States lacks standing to sue over the policies. The judge concluded that the lawsuit was an “end-run around the Tenth Amendment,” which protects states from federal government overreach. Federal laws “permit” states to cooperate with the federal government on immigration, but do not require it.

On August 26, 2025, the district court permanently dismissed the case following the federal government’s failure to file an amended complaint by the August 22, 2025, deadline.

I am pleased with today’s decision, which follows the 7th Circuit’s dismissal of a similar lawsuit filed during the first Trump administration. Today’s decision could not have been possible without the dedicated team of lawyers and staff who have worked tirelessly defending this latest attempt by the Trump administration to dismantle the TRUST Act. Illinois’ TRUST Act acknowledges that civil immigration enforcement is the responsibility of the federal government, and that state and local law enforcement resources are most appropriately utilized protecting the communities in which they serve. I will continue to defend the constitutionality of the TRUST Act against the Trump administration’s cruel and draconian immigration activities. Attorney General Kwame Raoul