“We hope the headlines and social media likes are worth it,” the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Wednesday, warning Democrat Illinois Governor JB Pritzker that he violated the U.S. Constitution Tuesday by signing a bill designed to thwart the federal department’s efforts to U.S. immigration law.
“(President) Donald Trump, (DHS Secretary) Kristi Noem, and (Border Chief) Gregory Bovino have tried to appeal to our lesser instincts. But the best of us are standing up to the worst of them," Gov. Pritzker said at the bill’s signing ceremony. In addition to giving illegal aliens new rights to sue the U.S. government for efforts to enforce immigration law, the bill also protects them from investigation and arrest, Fox News explains:
“Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Tuesday signed a sweeping bill aimed at further shielding illegal immigrants in the state from deportation, creating new safeguards at courthouses, hospitals, day cares and university campuses to limit civil immigration enforcement.”
“We will counter the Trump Administration’s depravity,” Gov. Pritzger vowed Tuesday in a social media post touting the new state law:
“Today, I've signed into law legislation that expands legal protections for the people of Illinois. Dropping your kid off at day care, going to the doctor, or attending classes should not be a life-altering task. We will counter the Trump Administration's depravity.”
DHS responded by reminding the Illinois governor that, per the U.S. Constitution, federal law trumps any and all state and local laws:
“Article VI, Paragraph 2 of the U.S. Constitution, still clearly states: ‘This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof … shall be the supreme Law of the Land.’
“By signing this law, @GovPritzker violated the Supremacy Clause.
“We hope the headlines and social media likes are worth it.”
DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs echoed the sarcastic sentiment in an interview with Fox News:
"By signing this law, Pritzker violated the Supremacy Clause, his oath he took as Governor to ‘support the Constitution of the United States’ — which itself falls under the oaths clause of the Constitution.
"We hope the headlines, social media likes, and fundraising emails he did this for are worth it!"
The full text of Article VI of the U.S. Constitution is presented below.
