The City of Chicago has joined a coalition of local governments in suing the Trump Administration over the withholding of federal funding for "sanctuary jurisdictions" that refuse to help with deportations and immigration enforcement.

The suit was initially filed by the city of San Francisco and County of Santa Clara in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.  The suit challenges Executive Order 14159, signed on Trump's first day in office, which specifies that "The Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall, to the maximum extent possible under law, evaluate and undertake any lawful actions to ensure that so-called "sanctuary" jurisdictions, which seek to interfere with the lawful exercise of Federal law enforcement operations, do not receive access to Federal funds."

Chicago's Welcoming City Ordinance bars Chicago police from cooperating with federal authorities in any immigration enforcement efforts. It's backed up by the Illinois TRUST Act, signed into law by Republican Governor Bruce Rauner in 2017, which largely prohibits state, county and local law enforcement from stopping, arresting, searching, detaining or continuing to detain a person solely due to immigration status.

The TRUST Act also requires Illinois law enforcement to obtain a warrant issued by a judge naming the person in question.

"Federal funding should never be used as a tool to coerce local authorities into compliance with unlawful mandates," said Chicago Corporation Counsel Mary B. Richardson-Lowry in a press release announcing the ctiy's joining of the lawsuit.  "This legal action reaffirms our commitment to defending the rule of law and protecting the ability of local governments to set policies that serve their communities."  

Chicago officials argue the Constitution prohibits the administration from requiring the city to use resources for federal civil immigration law enforcement in order to receive federal funding.

President Trump has singled out Chicago as one of the cities he wants to most focus on for mass deportations. In June he wrote on social media that he was calling for the "single largest mass deportation program in history," and focused on Chicago, Los Angeles and New York as targets, labeling them "the core of the Democratic power center."

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been tasked by the administration with targeting up to 3,000 arrest per day. The mass deportation efforts have led to clashes and protests in Chicago, along with condemnation from city and state officials. 

Other cities from around the country have also joined the lawsuit since it was filed, including Santa Fe, San Diego, Minneapolis, Baltimore, Columbus, Denver and Boston. 

The White House has not responded to Chicago's joining of the lawsuit. When the suit was initially filed in California, the White House, Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security did not return calls seeking comment.