Trump Administration Faces Growing Litigation in Illinois Over Immigration
Amidst the Trump administration’s efforts to increase immigration enforcement, Illinois courts have received an influx of actions from both private and public attorneys seeking to curb federal law enforcement’s ability to carry out the President’s mass deportation campaign.
Following the lead of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, who reiterated his strong support for protections for undocumented immigrants, Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced Tuesday he would be joining 19 other state attorney generals in a lawsuit aiming to prohibit the President’s administration from sharing Medicaid recipient information with Immigration Custom & Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection. The two agencies, the suit alleges, have received the data and information of millions of people who sought enrollment in Medicaid for the purposes of assisting in locating, identifying, and possibly detaining and deporting undocumented enrollees.
“This decision by the Trump administration will likely have a devastating effect on Illinois’ safety-net hospitals and community-based health care providers, and a chilling effect on the most vulnerable populations’ willingness to enroll in Medicaid programs for which they are legally eligible,” Attorney General Raoul said, arguing the large-scale data transfer was illegal. A similar view had previously been expressed by U.S. Health and Human Services spokesperson Andrew Nixon, who on behalf of the agency declined to disclose for what purpose and manner the information had been delivered to the Department of Homeland Security.
Elsewhere, private immigration and civil attorneys began oral arguments before a federal court in Chicago Friday. Pleading against DHS and ICE, attorneys argued that the detention of at least 25 Midwesterners, including one U.S. citizen, in ongoing immigration enforcement efforts violated their constitutional rights. The ACLU of Illinois, the National Immigrant Justice Center, and other litigators claimed ICE had made the arrests without probable cause or warrants, violating the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution. Attorneys for Sergio Bolanos Romero, a Chicago man pulled over and arrested by plainclothes officers, say Romero was mistaken for his neighbor and arrested without a warrant. Defense attorneys for ICE and DHS argued the agents could carry blank warrants which could be retroactively filled out after they witness probable cause, for arrest. Judge Jeffrey Cummings, of the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, was not convinced, asking the government “How do you know a warrant existed if you can’t find a copy of it?”
Attorneys argue the arrest of Romero and others violated the 2022 Castanon Nova settlement – which settled a class action lawsuit against ICE which restricted warrantless arrests by ICE to situations where evidence suggests an individual is likely to escape.
It is yet to be seen how these lawsuits may affect the Trump administration’s efforts to increase immigration enforcement against individuals and businesses, but given the President’s stated intentions to continue escalating enforcement in sanctuary states such as Illinois, it seems likely litigation will carry on for the foreseeable future with Illinois as a key legal battleground.
To learn more about changes in federal immigration policy, and how it may affect you or your business, contact any of the qualified attorneys at Rock Fusco & Connelly, LLC.