The federal lawsuit is the first by Trump's Justice Department against states or municipalities that have sanctuary city policies.

The Justice Department sued the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago on Thursday, seeking to block state and local protections for undocumented immigrants that the Trump administration says are impeding federal immigration enforcement efforts.

Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker says the state follows the law. President Donald Trump has often singled out Chicago and Illinois, which have some of the strongest sanctuary laws in the U.S.