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Immigrant rights groups in Chicago sue Trump administration, seek to block mass deportation efforts

Lawsuit claims immigration raids target Chicago for its sanctuary status
Lawsuit claims immigration raids target Chicago for its sanctuary status 01:45

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Some immigrant rights groups in Chicago have filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration, claiming the president's plans for immigration raids merely target the city over its sanctuary status and would violate the U.S. Constitution.

That suit filed by Organized Communities Against Deportation, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, claims President Trump's plans to target Chicago with mass deportations would violate their First Amendment rights to free speech, and possibly Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizures.

They argued the planned immigration raids are retaliatory in nature because of Chicago's Welcoming City Ordinance, which prohibits local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration agents in most cases.

"We argue that the announced raids are unconstitutional because they are motivated by the federal government's aim to destroy the Chicago-based sanctuary city movement, not any compelling government interest," said Sophia Zaman, executive director of Raise the Floor Alliance.

The plaintiffs pointed out that other states with large immigrant populations – namely Florida and Texas – aren't subjected to the same enforcement, even though studies show they have three times as many undocumented immigrants compared to Illinois.

Their lawsuit claims President Trump and his advisors "consistently spew vitriol towards the Sanctuary City Movement," and have fostered "massive intimidation and fear" that interferes with their right to advocate on behalf of undocumented immigrants and sanctuary city laws.

"We felt it in the streets, within our bases, with our community – the fear. In fact, Monday and Tuesday some places of Chicago were ghost towns," said Xanat Sobrevilla, with Organized Communities Against Deportation.

"We've seen it in our own organizing, where workers are fearful of coming to community meetings, or fearful of participating in labor actions, because they just don't know, you know, is the consequence going to be, you know at best, do I lose my job? At worst, could I be deported from this country?" Zaman said.

The lawsuit does not name Trump himself as a defendant, but was filed against the acting heads of Homeland Security and ICE.

The Chicago groups have asked for an emergency hearing, but said they don't expect to be in court until Tuesday at the earliest.

In the days leading up to and after President Trump's inauguration, reports spread that his administration would carry out mass deportations in so-called sanctuary cities like Chicago.

However, there have not been any obvious signs of a significant increase in ICE activity in Chicago since the president took office, or any indications of large-scale deportation raids.

Gov. JB Pritzker has said he's heard ICE agents could target up to 2,000 people in Chicago for deportation, but the Trump administration has not communicated with state officials on any specific immigration enforcement plans.

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