Overview
- The DOJ filed suit against Gov. JB Pritzker and Attorney General Kwame Raoul over a new state law restricting civil immigration arrests at or within 1,000 feet of courthouses.
- Illinois’ measure also requires hospitals, public universities, community colleges, and day care facilities to adopt protocols for encounters with federal immigration agents.
- The complaint contends the statute is unconstitutional because states lack authority to regulate federal immigration enforcement and it threatens punitive liability for federal officers.
- Justice Department officials say the law endangers agents, pointing to harassment, doxxing, and safety risks reported during heightened enforcement activity.
- Pritzker, who signed the law this month and said legal challenges were expected, has framed the policy as protecting access to courts and public services following intensive federal operations in the Chicago area.