Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has set his legal sights northward, joining a multi-state court filing which backs a U.S. government lawsuit against the state of Illinois and the City of Chicago over their sanctuary city policies. According to an announcement from the Missouri Attorney General's Office, the amicus brief filed jointly with 22 other states asserts that the sanctuary policies in Illinois interfere with federal immigration enforcement.
Controversial in nature, this alliance of states, led by a man born in the very heart of his state's politics, argues that Illinois's legislation cannot thwart federal immigration laws without expecting consequences. "I will not stand by while liberal bureaucrats in Chicago jeopardize the safety of Missouri families," Bailey stated emphatically. The focus of the Attorney General's umbrage is on policies he believes to be unlawful, and are turning the Midwest into a "magnet for illegal immigration and criminal activity," within running distance of Missouri's doorstep, as noted by the Missouri Attorney General's Office.
The brief, which the other states joined, emphasizes a belief that immigration policy needs to be dictated by federal consensus rather than a patchwork of individual state laws. Bailey characterizes Illinois's sanctuary statute as one which wrongfully shelters "illegal aliens" from federal authorities, complicating the immigration law's consistent enforcement nationwide. This dispute seeks to align state cooperation with the federal direction on immigration to avoid legal clashes.
According to Attorney General Bailey, Illinois's current position not only undermines the federal government's actions but also levies a financial cost upon fellow states. "When a minority of states like Illinois seek to thwart the enforcement of duly enacted federal immigration laws and policies, they impose the costs of their undemocratic choice on the rest of the Nation," the brief declares. It lays out a case that these costs manifest as strains on state welfare programs, emergency services, public education, and affordable housing, besides a purported increase in crime - all suffered by states shouldering their own burdens already, as per the Missouri Attorney General's Office.
The legal document supports the government's appeal for preliminary injunctive relief that targets Illinois’ statute, which the states involved view as unconstitutional. Missouri asserts that the courts should recognize federal supremacy in immigration matters and prevent Illinois from continuing its sanctuary practices, which are contentious within the broader debate on immigration policy and enforcement in the United States.
