The city of Chicago has filed suit against U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the Department of Justice over restrictions being placed on a Justice Assistance grant. (Photo from Department of Justice)

Chicago has filed a lawsuit to block the latest attempt by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the Department of Justice to impose new conditions on the 2018 Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant.

“Chicago has repeatedly beaten the Trump Justice Department in court; and Chicago is proud to fight the Trump Justice Department again,” Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said. “Instead of inviting lawsuits and attacking immigrants, the Trump DOJ should immediately stop placing illegal conditions on these grants, quit withholding grant funding, and allow Chicago to use these grants to improve public safety. We will not be bullied, intimidated or coerced into making a false choice between our values as a welcoming city and the principles of community policing.”

Despite prior losses on three immigration-related conditions, the DOJ of President Donald Trump is attempting to impose four conditions on the 2018 Byrne Grant. The conditions include a “notice” stipulation, which requires grantees to provide advanced notice to the U.S. Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement before releasing a potentially undocumented immigrant from custody and an “access” condition that requires grantees to allow ICE access to detainees in the grantee’s custody for interrogation. In addition to the previously barred conditions, the attorney general has added a new condition and an additional mandatory certification.

“We already won this battle in court, and yet the attorney general continues to disregard numerous federal court rulings that have repeatedly said he does not have the authority to add these requirements to a grant program created by Congress,” said the city’s Corporation Counsel Ed Siskel. “He cannot unilaterally impose new certifications and offer vague references to federal laws as a justification for unlawful actions.”

A new “harboring” condition would prohibit grantees from trying to protect undocumented immigrants, even where doing so would not violate any statute. The new “additional certification” condition would require grantees to certify compliance with a raft of federal immigration laws and provide assurance that the grantee has no law or policy that would impede federal officers enforcing federal immigration law.

This legal battle began in August 2017 after the Department of Justice published the solicitation for the 2017 JAG program, which provides states and cities with federal funding to support local law enforcement efforts.

Despite the losses, the DOJ has not yet released the 2017 grant of more than $2 million to Chicago, and Chicago, unlike many other cities across the nation, has not yet received an award letter for 2018.

The DOJ has also withheld the 2017 COPS Hiring award of $3 million as it has imposed a special condition regarding compliance with a federal statute that requires grantees to comply with applicable federal law. The 2018 COPS Hiring solicitation was put on hold by the COPS Office until further notice.

In September 2017, U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber entered a preliminary injunction blocking the access and notice conditions for the grants on a nationwide basis. In April, the preliminary injunction was upheld on appeal to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, although that court later limited the injunction to Chicago.

In July, Leinenweber entered a permanent injunction blocking all three grant conditions, but limited the permanent injunction to Chicago. DOJ appealed the permanent injunction ruling to the 7^th Circuit, and briefing is underway, with Chicago’s response brief due Nov. 8.

As part of the proceedings, Leinenweber warned the Trump DOJ that if it continued to include the conditions in future grants, he would likely order the DOJ to pay the city’s attorney’s fees for having to challenge the conditions yet again. As a result, the city is seeking fees on the grounds that DOJ has acted in bad faith.

The city of Philadelphia recently won a ruling on similar grounds, which the Trump DOJ is appealing. Chicago filed a brief on Oct. 11 in support of the favorable ruling for Philadelphia.

The 2018 Byrne Grant solicitations, which were released in late July, have already drawn four lawsuits by eight different states and two cities.

Over the years, Chicago has used Byrne funds for purposes that benefit public safety, including the purchase of Special Weapons and Tactics equipment, police vehicles, radios, Tasers and expansion of the ShotSpotter system. Chicago intends to use the 2018 Byrne funds to bolster resources of the Chicago Police Department’s Bureau of Detectives. In 2016, Chicago received $2.3 million in JAG funds.

The city is being supported in its legal efforts in the case by two outside law firms, Riley Safer and Wilmer Hale, who are providing their services pro bono.

— City of Chicago sues over Justice Department grant —