Illinois lost its bid to throw out a Justice Department lawsuit challenging a state law allowing citizens to sue federal immigration agents for civil-rights violations.
DOJ has “plausibly alleged” that conflicts between federal law and the Illinois Bivens Act “concretely impact on the executive branch’s duty to enforce immigration laws,” giving the government standing to pursue its challenge, Judge David Dugan wrote in an order Wednesday denying Illinois’ motion to dismiss.
While Illinois argued that nobody had yet sued under the act, the mere threat of potential claims against immigration agents means that “personnel are necessarily burdened with the …