Advocacy Groups Stress that Sanctuary Policies Make Illinois Safer and Economically Viable in Call to End Trump Lawsuit

Edwin C. Yohnka, eyohnka@aclu-il.org, 847.687.1129 (cell)

Tara Tidwell Cullen TTidwellCullen@immigrantjustice.org

Brandon Lee, blee@icirr.org

CHICAGO – So-called “sanctuary policies,” barring state and local law enforcement officers in Illinois from cooperating with federal civil immigration enforcement, enhance public safety, protect state and local police officers from being caught up in constitutional violations and create a stronger local economy. These facts are laid out in an amicus brief from a group of advocacy organizations encouraging a federal court of appeals to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the Trump Administration against the State of Illinois, Cook County and the City of Chicago. The lawsuit, filed in February 2025, is the Trump Administration’s on-going campaign to challenge state and local policies that limit local law enforcement participation in the Administration’s reckless, erratic immigration enforcement activities.

The brief was filed on behalf of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights and Mujeres Latinas en Acción in addition to the ACLU of Illinois and National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC). The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeal is considering whether to uphold a lower court ruling dismissing the lawsuit.

The brief rebuts a series of hyperbolic claims regularly repeated by Trump Administration officials that sanctuary policies make communities less safe. A 2017 study by the Center for American Progress, as an example, reveals that overall crime rates are higher in counties where local law enforcement officers cooperate with federal civil immigration enforcement activities. Beyond that, a 2022 study cited finds that the adoption of these sanctuary policies across the country lead to fewer property crimes and violent crimes where they are adopted (counties, in particular).

Sanctuary policies have a critical impact on domestic and gender-based violence. A 2022 study cited in the brief finds that when state and local communities refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement, there is a lower rate of domestic homicides involving a female Hispanic victim.

“Turning state and local law enforcement against the communities they are supposed to serve is repressive and dangerous,” said Rebecca Glenberg, a Chief Litigation Counsel, at the ACLU of Illinois. “By barring state and local police from being part of federal immigration activities, community members from Illinois, Cook County, and Chicago are increasing safety and battling and strengthening ties between communities and police.”

The groups also point out that sanctuary policies protect state and local police officers – ensuring that they stay within the bounds of the Constitution and state law and reducing local governments’ exposure for violating the law. The brief cites developments in a local case – Castañon Nava v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security – where a district court has found ICE and CBP repeatedly and regularly violated a consent decree by conducting immigration arrests without warrants or probable cause of a flight risk. Because of policies enacted by the State of Illinois, Cook County and the City of Chicago, local police officers have not been implicated in these violations.

“Courts across the country have repeatedly ruled that ICE and Border Patrol’s mass detention and deportation agenda is violating U.S. law and the Constitution,” said Mark Fleming, Associate Director of Litigation at NIJC. “Where local governments collaborate with ICE in its enforcement, we have seen lawsuits that hold them financially accountable. Laws like the Illinois TRUST Act and the Cook County and Chicago welcoming ordinances ensure taxpayer resources are not being used to violate people’s rights and are not being wasted on costly litigation."

Finally, the brief also makes clear the positive impact of immigrants on a local economy and the harm being done by the Trump Administration’s reckless immigration enforcement in the Chicagoland area. The brief notes one study finding that immigrants without documentation in Illinois provide an estimated $1.5 billion, including nearly $600 million in sales and excise taxes, and more than $500 million in property taxes. These taxes help fund critical social services, including law enforcement, as well as local education, health care and economic development. A recent study by an economist from the Wharton School estimates that the loss to local businesses and economic activity from the Trump Administration’s immigration activity across the country could be up to $15 billion. Contrary to the claims of the Trump Administration, immigration enforcement did not create more jobs or higher wages for U.S. Citizens, but resulted in job losses for immigrants and citizens. In Chicagoland, a 2026 study estimates that ICE’s enforcement from January 2025 to September 2025 resulted in a loss of 32,678 jobs.

In short, the brief explains, the economic benefits of sanctuary policies are clear – our local economy is more secure for everyone including immigrants, when we can focus on working and growing businesses rather than worry about mass deportations and detentions.

"The district court, like so many other courts, ruled that Chicago, Cook County, and the State of Illinois are well within their constitutional rights to craft laws that welcome and protect immigrants and disentangle local police from federal civil immigration enforcement,” added Fred Tsao, Senior Policy Counsel at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. “We hope that the Seventh Circuit will affirm the district court's ruling dismissing this federal administration's attempts to undermine our state and local policies.”

“Sanctuary policies are a critical lifeline for the women and families we serve, ensuring that survivors of domestic and sexual violence can seek help and protection without the terrifying fear of deportation,” said Angela Anderson Guerrero, President and CEO of Mujeres Latinas en Acción. “When our systems are designed to protect our communities and refuse to cooperate with immigration enforcement, domestic homicides decrease. When our community members feel safe coming forward to report abuse, and when their economic contributions are protected rather than disrupted by reckless enforcement, our entire community becomes safer and more prosperous.”

“The Trump Administration’s continued efforts to coerce our state and local governments to assist in mass deportations and detentions is not only illegal, but it is built on a pile of false claims about immigrants. The facts show that sanctuary policies preserve safer communities and stronger economies, which our state and local governments rightly prioritize,” said Michelle García, Deputy Legal Director at the ACLU of Illinois. “We hope the appeals court will bring an end to this case.”

The filing today comes in a case filed by the Trump’s U.S. Department of Justice asking a court to force the State of Illinois, City of Chicago and Cook County to cease enforcement of their sanctuary policies. The state and local governments are asking the appellate court to affirm the ruling of the district court to dismiss the case.

A copy of the amicus brief can be found here.