After eviscerating most of Arizona’s strict immigration law in court last month, the Obama administration is now considering going after the other side by suing sanctuary cities to force them to cooperate with federal deportation efforts, an agency chief told Congress on Monday.

John Morton, director of US Immigration & Customs Enforcement, said he’s asked Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to take legal action against Cook County, President Obama’s home county in Illinois, to force it to turn over illegal immigrants for removal. He said he’s now awaiting a final answer from the Justice Department.

“They wanted to see how certain pieces of court decisions came out. I expect to hear from them shortly, and I can tell you that resolving the issue in Cook County is very important for me,” Mr. Morton testified to the House Homeland Security subcommittee on the border.

Cook County officials decided several years ago they did not want to cooperate with federal authorities’ immigration efforts and stopped providing them information that could help with deportations of those booked into county jails.

Last year, the county enacted an ordinance officially halting compliance except in the most major of cases, and then only after they reached a financial agreement with the federal government to cover the costs.

Mr. Morton said that’s effectively dried up all cooperation. “Right now, it’s not a question of Cook County releasing some individuals to us,” he said. “They are releasing no individuals to us, including very violent offenders, and I just don’t think that’s good policy.”

The Justice Department declined to comment on whether it is prepared to sue, but Mr. Morton said he and Homeland Security Secretary Janet A. Napolitano are both pushing for action to force Cook County to comply.

The development could put Mr. Obama in a tough position. His administration moved quickly to sue Arizona and other states that enacted strict immigration laws over the past two years, arguing that only the federal government can set immigration policy. The Supreme Court last month agreed, overturning most of Arizona’s law -- though not the part that lets police detain illegal immigrants for pickup by federal authorities.

Even as he sued strict-enforcement states, though, Mr. Obama has not taken action against Cook County, which contains his hometown of Chicago, nor has he acted against the handful of other localities that have said they’ll resist turning illegal immigrants over to the federal government.

A Cook County spokeswoman declined to comment Tuesday, saying the county hadn’t heard anything about having funding withdrawn or about negotiating with the Justice Department over compliance...

The detainer controversy dovetails with a broader concern over the Secure Communities program, created by Congress, which tries to check whether those arrested by police should be deported. Under Secure Communities, the fingerprint checks local police submit to the FBI are also checked against immigration databases, and if individuals are deemed priorities for deportation, the federal government asks that detainees be held.

Some states had tried to opt out of the fingerprint portion, but federal authorities said they have no choice.

Cook County is not yet covered by Secure Communities, but the program is expected to be running nationwide next year.

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Editor's Note: Does it seem odd to you that an administration that would go so very far to open the borders -- to the point of suing sovereign States for enforcing laws that mirror federal laws not being enforced by said administration -- would litigate against sanctuary cities; cities that embrace the same ideological motivation where immigration is concerned? Something just doesn't smell right here...


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