US sues Illinois, Chicago for impeding immigration efforts

(Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice sued Illinois and the city of Chicago on Thursday, accusing them of impeding the Trump administration's immigration enforcement policies and seeking a court order sweeping aside so-called sanctuary laws.

Citing a national emergency declared by President Donald Trump on Inauguration Day, the Department of Justice is seeking to block the enforcement of several state and local laws that "interfere with and discriminate against" the federal government's enforcement of federal immigration law.

The complaint was filed in Chicago federal court.

Chicago's mayor and the state attorney general did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump has pledged to deport millions of people who are in the country illegally and is expected to rely on cooperation with local law enforcement to help with that effort.

Newly installed U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a memo on Wednesday that said sanctuary jurisdictions should not receive federal Justice Department grants and the department should take actions against jurisdictions that impede immigration enforcement.

Massachusetts' new top federal prosecutor on Wednesday vowed to investigate local officials if they obstruct the Trump administration's ramped up immigration arrests, saying "no one gets a pass."

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Marguerita Choy)