The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and Attorney General Kwame Raoul, challenging what the federal government calls an unconstitutional attempt to regulate federal law enforcement officers through the so-called “Illinois Bivens Act” and “Court Access, Safety, and Participation Act.”
The federal government says that the laws threaten the safety of federal officers who have faced an unprecedented wave of harassment, doxxing, and even violence. Threatening officers with ruinous liability and even punitive damages for executing federal law and for simply protecting their identities and their families also chills the enforcement of federal law and compromises sensitive law enforcement operations. The danger is acute.
“The Department of Justice will steadfastly protect law enforcement from unconstitutional state laws like Illinois’ that threaten massive punitive liability and compromise the safety of our officers,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.
Pritzker has opposed the federal government enforcing immigration laws in Northern Illinois.
“Unfortunately, Illinois politicians prefer to attack law enforcement with lawsuits and punitive damages rather than support ICE’s Criminal Alien Program, which prioritizes the safe removal of dangerous criminal aliens like murderers, child rapists, and other serious offenders,” said U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft for the Southern District of Illinois. “Courthouse arrests are only necessary in the first place because Illinois refuses to honor federal detainers at the jails and prisons, instead preferring to release criminals back into our communities.”
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Attorney General Bondi instructed the Department’s Civil Division to identify state and local laws, policies, and practices that facilitate violations of federal laws or impede lawful federal operations. This lawsuit is the latest in a series of lawsuits brought by the Civil Division targeting illegal policies designed to thwart federal law enforcement across the country, including in New York, New Jersey, and Los Angeles, California.
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