On Friday July 25, a federal court dismissed the Trump administration’s lawsuit against local and state welcoming laws in Illinois. In response, Fred Tsao, senior policy counsel at ICIRR released the following statement:

ICIRR is pleased that the federal court has dismissed the groundless, baseless lawsuit brought by the Trump administration against the Illinois TRUST Act, the Cook County Detainer Ordinance, and the Chicago Welcoming City Ordinance. The court correctly ruled that states, counties, and cities are fully within their rights under the US Constitution to enact policies that ensure that police can build more trusting relationships with immigrant communities and that enhance public safety for all residents of Illinois, regardless of immigration status. 

The TRUST Act, Cook County Detainer Ordinance, and the Welcoming City Ordinance protect all communities and improve public safety by separating local police from federal immigration enforcement. The TRUST Act became law during the first Trump administration and has helped keep families together throughout the state while ensuring Illinois can live up to our welcoming values. We thank Attorney General Raoul, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office, and the City of Chicago law department for fighting back against the Trump administration and standing up for Illinois law, and to Governor Pritzker and Mayor Johnson for standing up for our state and city welcoming policies in front of Congress. 

ICIRR recognizes that this court ruling will not prevent future legal action by the Trump administration, which will continue to use ICE and other deputized federal agencies to terrorize Illinois communities. ICIRR and our members look forward to engaging with Attorney General Raoul, Governor Pritzker, and members of the Illinois General Assembly in the coming session to strengthen our state legal protections, and to working similarly with county and city officials to make our local communities even more welcoming. We will also continue to work with our Congressional allies to rein in and hold accountable this federal administration that is so needlessly attacking our city, county, and state and attempting to intimidate our families and neighbors.