The State of Illinois has filed a lawsuit naming the Department Of Homeland Security and the Trump administration over tactics described as “unlawful and dangerous.” The methods are those employed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs And Border Protection agents during the course of their presence in Illinois. The suit was announced by Attorney General Kwame Raoul.
The litigation was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois’s Eastern Division. It asserts the Trump administration has “unleashed an organized bombardment on the State of Illinois and City of Chicago, causing turmoil and imposing a climate of fear.” The City Of Chicago joined the suit as a plaintiff.
Among the defends named in the suit are DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, ICE Director Todd Lyons CBP Commander Greg Bovino.
In Chicago and surrounding areas, “Operation Midway Blitz” began in September. It comprised agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Patrol. The CBP teams were dubbed, “the green machine” by Bovino. The lawsuit states agents have killed one Illinois resident, shot another and raided an apartment building, detaining all its residents, including children. Numerous US citizens were taken into custody and thousands of others were sprayed with mace, tear gas and physically harmed by agents.
“Border Patrol agents and ICE officers have acted as occupiers rather than officers of the law,” Raoul said in a statement Monday.
Governor JB Pritzker said in a statement, In the face of the Trump Administration’s cruelty and intimidation, Illinois is standing up against the attacks on our people. Today, Illinois is once again taking Donald Trump to court to hold his administration accountable for their unlawful tactics, unnecessary escalations, and flagrant abuses of power.”
In the request for relief, Raoul is asking the court to order the agencies to stop using tactics which exceed their authority. This includes collecting biometric data of Illinoisans, dispensing tear gas without the required warning and violating property rights.
The behavior and tactics employed by ICE and CBP are clearly a serious departure from how local law enforcement officers act in their communities. Never before have deportation activities been used politically as they are today. Even in Trump’s first term, agents conducted their duties without seeking confrontation and attention.
The court should grant relief.