For years, Democrat-run states and cities have openly defied federal immigration laws to shield illegal immigrants. But that era may finally be coming to an end. The Trump administration is now mounting its most aggressive legal offensive yet against sanctuary jurisdictions—signaling that the walls may finally be closing in on these rogue policies.
On Friday, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Illinois. The DOJ's lawsuit targets Illinois's amended "Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act" (SB0508), which deliberately undermines employers' ability to verify workers' immigration status.
The law changes Illinois’s “Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act” in ways that complicate and discourage the use of E-Verify and Form I-9, key tools used to confirm employment eligibility. The complaint argues that by threatening employers with penalties and creating confusing verification rules, Illinois is undermining federal authority on immigration.
Attorney General Pam Bondi delivered an unambiguous warning to sanctuary jurisdictions.
“This Department of Justice is committed to protecting American workers, employers, and enforcing federal immigration law,” Bondi said in a statement. “Any state that incentivizes illegal immigration and makes it harder for federal authorities to do their job will face legal consequences from this Administration.”
Obviously, Illinois's law represents exactly what's wrong with sanctuary policies—it imposes fines up to $10,000 on employers who don't follow the state-mandated notification requirements, effectively obstructing federal immigration enforcement efforts. The legislation creates a maze of bureaucratic hurdles designed to tip off illegal workers about potential workplace inspections.
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ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons made it crystal clear that sanctuary jurisdictions can expect an unprecedented crackdown: the more they resist federal law, the more aggressive enforcement will become.
"The more they're going to double down or triple down, we're going to ramp it up more,” he told Fox News. “We're gonna make sure we're doing all we can do to bring our law enforcement resources to that jurisdiction and we're going to take care of those public safety threats."
In fact, we're already seeing this strategy play out, with successful operations such as Florida's recent "Operation Tidal Wave" that resulted in hundreds of arrests.
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons has a message for "sanctuary cities": "The more they're going to double down or triple down, we're going to ramp it up more. We're gonna make sure we're doing all we can do to bring our law enforcement resources to that jurisdiction and we're going… pic.twitter.com/ESDZPfhhkl
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 2, 2025
Make no mistake about it—this represents a watershed moment in the fight against sanctuary policies. The federal government is demonstrating both the will and the legal framework to dismantle sanctuary jurisdictions piece by piece. States that have long thumbed their noses at federal immigration law are about to learn a costly lesson about the Supremacy Clause.
Given the Trump administration's determination and the DOJ's robust legal strategy, sanctuary cities may soon face an impossible choice: abandon their obstruction of federal law or face mounting legal and financial consequences. The era of consequence-free sanctuary policies is drawing to a close, and cities that continue to shield illegal aliens will find themselves on the losing end of both legal battles and public opinion.
Hopefully, with the administration's zero-tolerance approach and the DOJ's latest legal offensive, the days of sanctuary cities and states may be numbered. The only question remaining is how many resources these jurisdictions are willing to waste defending policies that clearly violate federal law before finally surrendering to reality.
