Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and Gov. JB Pritzker
CHICAGO - The court fights that have characterized the dispute between Democrats in California and the Trump administration over the administration's immigration enforcement operations are now being joined by nearly identical filings in Illinois federal court, as Illinois Democrats and left-wing activists similarly seek to use the courts to blunt the ability of ICE agents to operate in Chicago and elsewhere in the state.
On Oct. 6, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul filed suit in Chicago federal court, seeking an emergency court order that would purportedly deny President Donald Trump the ability to "federalize" hundreds of National Guard soldiers in Illinois and dispatch hundreds more from Texas to Cook County to support agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Those agents are the target of constant hostile action from protesters, ongoing for weeks, including some allegedly violent attempts to target ICE officers or obstruct federal immigration enforcement operations.
On the same day, allied pro-immigrant activists have partnered with members of the press and trial lawyers who have made their name suing Chicago Police to also sue the Trump administration in federal court over alleged excessive force used by ICE and other federal agents to deal with constant protests and attempts at apparent obstruction outside of ICE's processing facility in suburban Broadview.
And those lawsuits come days after the village of Broadview took action in federal court, seeking an order forbidding ICE from setting up a perimeter fence to hold activists back from the processing facility and maintain agents' ability to move in and out of the facility, as needed.
All of the lawsuits, other than Broadview's, mirror similar legal actions mounted against the Trump administration in California, where the legal war has waged on for months amid continued admitted attempts by Democrats to either resist or end efforts by the administration to ramp up and carry out operations to detain and deport illegal immigrants in that state and beyond.
Most recently, California sued to block Trump from using National Guard units to protect ICE and other federal agents against constant harassment and, at times, violence targeted at them by Antifa and other left-wing activists opposed to immigration enforcement, generally, in Portland, Oregon.
Previously, California had secured wins against Trump's actions in federal court under a federal law which limits the ability of U.S. presidents to deploy the military against civilians in U.S. states.
In the Illinois lawsuits, Raoul and the activists and journalists assert ICE is to blame entirely for "provoking" otherwise peaceful activists to respond and become increasingly hostile to federal agents.
They assert the constant protests and attempts to block the streets around the Broadview facility do not in any way impede ICE from carrying out its lawful duties and immigration enforcement actions.
So, as in California, Illinois state officials - all Democrats who have pledged to resist immigration enforcement actions in the state - say Trump's move to activate Guard units in support of ICE are unconstitutional and illegal.
In comments made during interviews over the weekend, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker echoed the claims made in the state’s lawsuit, asserting ICE and federal agents were responsible for making a peaceful Chicago and its suburbs into a “war zone.” He has further indicated he may use state investigators and possibly state and local law enforcement to launch actions against ICE and federal agents over their alleged mistreatment of children swept up in ICE operations.
Trump administration officials have said the additional security measures are needed to deal with increasingly violent actions against federal agents over immigration enforcement. Over the weekend, two people were charged with assaulting ICE agents by ramming ICE vehicles while agents were conducting enforcement activities. A woman was shot by ICE officers during the incident.
Following that incident, ICE agents were surrounded by an angry crowd elsewhere, but were reportedly refused backup and crowd control support by Chicago Police, reportedly under orders from the Chicago Police Department’s Patrol Chief.
In the activists' and journalists' lawsuit, the plaintiffs claim ICE and federal agents in Broadview have taken overly aggressive action against protesters, including intentionally targeting peaceful protesters and journalists with non-lethal munitions, including pepper balls, paint balls and rubber bullets, and so-called flash grenades and tear gas.
They characterize the federal agents' actions as "a pattern of extreme brutality in a concerted and ongoing effort to silence the press and civilians" amid an effort of "violent and unlawful suppression of First Amendment activities" which are being undertaken by activists and protesters to oppose "lawlessness unleashed on the Chicagoland area."
The activists and journalists are asking for a court order prohibiting ICE and other federal agents from using anti-riot tactics and weapons against protesters in Broadview, unless officers can identify specific and credible threats to the safety of officers carrying out lawful duties.
Journalists are also asking for special protections for people who are clearly "identifiable" as journalists engaged in reporting on the scene, including a court order granting journalists freedom to remain on scene even after law enforcement officers have issued a dispersal order.
The activists and journalists are being represented in the action by a legal team from nonprofit organizations and others who have racked up numerous lawsuits through the years targeting police in Chicago and elsewhere for alleged excessive force and wrongful prosecution of people who were allegedly wrongly charged or convicted of crimes, including murder.
Attorneys in the new action include those from the firm of Loevy & Loevy, of Chicago; the First Defense Legal Aid organization, of Chicago, which states its mission is "to connect, educate, and defend over-policed community members;" the Protect Democracy Project, of Washington, D.C, which was founded by officials from the administration of former President Barack Obama in 2016 to resist "authoritarian" actions from the Trump administration; the Community Justice and Civil Rights Clinic at the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law; the Mandel Legal Aid Clinic at the University of Chicago; and the Roger Baldwin Foundation of the ACLU, of Chicago.
Both Raoul and the activists and journalists are seeking temporary restraining orders in their respective cases.
A judge has not yet ruled on either request, and the Trump administration has not yet responded in court.
Editor’s note: This article has been revised from an initial version to correct an error and provide clarification related to reports surrounding an incident in which Chicago Police were ordered to not provide crowd control support for ICE agents facing a hostile crowd.
