A federal judge Friday sided with the city of Chicago in its sanctuary city lawsuit, ruling that the Trump administration does not have the authority to withhold federal public safety funding from the city if it limits its cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.
The city filed its suit against the U.S. Department of Justice in August, after the department mandated that local governments meet a set of conditions to be eligible for federal grant funding. The conditions included having local governments certify that they would comply with a federal law barring restrictions on federal-local sharing of information on an immigrant’s status and granting Homeland Security personnel access to local law enforcement facilities.
U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber on Friday agreed with the city, granting a permanent injunction against all three of the conditions the Justice Department sought to impose.
“Today’s opinion in favor of Chicago and against the Trump Justice Department marks a major win for all Chicagoans and a significant victory for public safety,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a Friday statement. “We will never be coerced or intimidated into abandoning our values as a welcoming city. Welcoming immigrants, refugees and dreamers from every corner of the globe is part of Chicago’s history, and part of our future, no matter which way the political winds are blowing in Washington.”
