BREAKING: Chicago Groups Sue Trump Admin Over Raids Targeting Sanctuary Movement

“The Trump administration’s plans to carry out raids in a city that is known as ground zero for sanctuary protections are a brazen attempt to stomp out a growing sanctuary movement.”

Chicago, IL – Early this morning, Organized Communities Against Deportation (OCAD), Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR), Brighton Park Neighborhood Council (BPNC), and Raise the Floor Alliance filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration’s plans to carry out raids in Chicago, the city at the epicenter of the Sanctuary Movement. Represented by Just Futures Law and Community Justice, Civil Rights Clinic of Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and MK Law, plaintiffs allege that the administration’s announced raids are retaliatory in nature and violate the First Amendment. Groups are asking for an emergency hearing .

In their filing, groups claim President Trump’s animosity toward sanctuary cities motivates his administration’s plan to unconstitutionally target and conduct raids in Chicago. During his campaign, then-candidate Trump, repeatedlydenounced Chicago’s sanctuary policy.

“Immigrant communities who have called Chicago their home for decades are scared,” said Antonio Gutierrez from OCAD. “We refuse to live in fear and will fight any attempts to roll back the work we’ve done to keep families together.”

Immigration raids anywhere hurt entire communities,” stated Sheila Bedi of the Community Justice Clinic. “In Chicago, the Trump administration isn’t just trying to unleash arbitrary immigrant enforcement. The impending raids are a brazen attempt to stomp out the sanctuary city movement and run roughshod over the First Amendment. Our communities need organizers’ vision and advocacy now more than ever. This lawsuit is about prohibiting the Trump Administration from using law enforcement to decimate a vital social justice movement.”

“The sanctuary movement was born out of the belief that all people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, and that harsh, inhumane immigration enforcement is not the answer to what our city needs,” said Fred Tsao, senior policy counsel at ICIRR. “The efforts to make Chicago a welcoming place for all people speaks to the values that Chicagoans have held for centuries. We are committed to upholding our welcoming values, fighting back against Trump’s attacks on our movement, and ensuring Chicago remains a safe place for everyone.”

“Chicago’s working families, friends, and neighbors are not a dartboard for Trump to make an example of for his racist and anti-immigrant agenda,” said Sophia Zaman, Executive Director of Raise the Floor Alliance. “These raids are not only unconstitutional – they are a direct attack on the immigrant workers whose labor keeps this country running, while Trump’s billionaire cronies line their pockets. We’re facing a massive rise in workplace abuse, and we will not stand by as our communities are torn apart.”

“Despite what Trump says, the Constitution remains intact,” said Sejal Zota, Legal Director with Just Futures Law. “As long as it exists, it is our job to defend groups and their members from being targeted because of their political advocacy and views.”

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