CHICAGO FILES LAWSUIT OVER SANCTUARY POLICY

CHICAGO Mayor Rahm Emanuel, pictured, has taken his fight against President Donald Trump’s immigration policies to court, with Chicago becoming one of the first cities Monday to sue the government over what many U.S. cities argue are illegal bids to withhold public safety grants from socalled sanctuary cities.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, a day after Emanuel announced the litigation and said the city won’t “be blackmailed” into changing its values as a welcoming city. He argued it’s unconstitutional for a city “to be coerced on a policy.”

Chicago officials say there are new qualifications for a grant that requires cities to share information with U.S. immigration authorities, which they allege are unconstitutional. Chicago has received the grant funds since 2005, including $2.3 million last year. They were used for buying police vehicles, radios and SWAT equipment.

“These new conditions — which would give federal officials the power to enter city facilities and interrogate arrestees at will and would force the City to detain individuals longer than justified by probable cause, solely to permit federal officials to investigate their immigration status — are unauthorized and unconstitutional,” the complaint read. “These new conditions also fly in the face of longstanding City policy that promotes co-operation between local law enforcement and immigrant communities, ensures access to essential city services for all residents, and makes all Chicagoans safer.”

The lawsuit seeks to remove the immigration-related conditions for the grant applications.