Donald Trump Dealt Legal Blow Over Sanctuary Cities
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
A federal judge dealt a blow to President Donald Trump and his immigration agenda when she dismissed a lawsuit the administration filed against Illinois and Chicago over their "sanctuary city" policies.
The Department of Justice sued the defendants in early February, alleging that their sanctuary city policies were hindering federal authorities from conducting immigration enforcement actions.
In her ruling Friday, U.S. District Judge Lindsay Jenkins said she was dismissing the case because the U.S. "lacks standing" to sue the defendants "with respect to the Sanctuary Policies," adding that the lawsuit from the DOJ was an effort to encroach on state sovereignty.
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Ro Khanna of California said on NBC's 'Meet the Press' on Sunday. 'Look, I agree … that she should testify. But she's been indicted twice on perjury. This is why we need the files.' Republican leaders hoped the case might simply disappear over the summer recess. But Kentucky GOP Rep. Thomas Massie, a co-sponsor with Khanna of a House bill demanding the release of the files, isn't giving up. 'This is going to hurt Republicans in the midterms. The voters will be apathetic if we don't hold the rich and powerful accountable,' Massie said on NBC. 'I think when we get back, we can get the signatures required to force this to the floor.' The Trump administration has asked the courts to release grand jury testimony pertinent to the Epstein case. But one federal judge refused last week, in a ruling that may have given the DOJ political cover. 'We want them to release the files. However, we can't make them release it because of separation of power,' Oklahoma GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin told Jake Tapper on CNN's 'State of the Union.' That may be the case. But grand jury testimony is believed to be only a fraction of the evidence against Epstein that the government holds — and hasn't made public. And the entire controversy has been worsened by the administration's clumsy approach and unwillingness to confront the anger of the MAGA base. 'I think that part of this problem is that there were some false expectations that are created, and that's a political mistake,' Missouri Republican Rep. Eric Burlison told CNN's Manu Raju.
