Attorney General Bailey Takes Stand Against Illinois Sanctuary Policies Threatening Missouri’s Safety

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has joined a 23-state amicus brief in support of the United States’ lawsuit against the state of Illinois and the City of Chicago, challenging sanctuary policies that obstruct federal immigration enforcement. The brief urges the court to recognize that state laws cannot frustrate or override federal authority in immigration matters.

“I will not stand by while liberal bureaucrats in Chicago jeopardize the safety of Missouri families,” said Attorney General Bailey. “Their unlawful policies turn the Midwest into a magnet for illegal immigration and criminal activity—and Missouri will not be a sanctuary for either.”

Missouri joined the brief to clarify that while states can cooperate with the federal government on immigration enforcement, they cannot pass laws that directly contradict or obstruct federal law. Illinois’s sanctuary statute unlawfully shields illegal aliens from federal authorities and disrupts the uniform enforcement of immigration laws nationwide.

The brief asks the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois to grant the federal government’s request for preliminary injunctive relief and ultimately strike down Illinois’s unconstitutional statute. It stresses that immigration policy must remain federal, not fragmented by inconsistent and unlawful state action.

“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 states. “Illegal immigration has real costs for Amici States, including fewer resources and higher taxes for their citizens and legal aliens. The unprecedented influx of illegal immigrants has strained State welfare programs, emergency services, public education, and affordable housing, all while increasing crime.”

Missouri joined the brief alongside Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

The full amicus brief can be read here.