Show-Me State Times

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has participated in a 23-state amicus brief supporting a United States lawsuit against Illinois and the City of Chicago. The lawsuit challenges sanctuary policies that allegedly hinder federal immigration enforcement. The brief calls for the court to affirm that state laws cannot impair 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 state that while states can cooperate with the federal government on immigration enforcement, they cannot enact laws that directly oppose or obstruct federal law. The brief argues that Illinois’s sanctuary statute unlawfully protects illegal aliens from federal authorities and disrupts the uniform enforcement of immigration laws nationwide.

The brief requests the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois to grant the federal government’s call for preliminary injunctive relief and eventually nullify Illinois’s unconstitutional statute. It emphasizes that immigration policy should remain federal, not disjointed by inconsistent state actions.

"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."

Other states joining Missouri in the brief include 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 is available for reading.