The Department of Justice filed a federal lawsuit on June 18, 2026, against the City of Philadelphia, Mayor Cherelle Parker, District Attorney Lawrence Krasner, and City Solicitor Renee Garcia, challenging a local ordinance that restricts how federal law enforcement officers may operate within city limits [1][2]. The complaint targets Philadelphia Bill No. 260060, known as the "ICE Out" ordinance, which prohibits federal officers from wearing masks during enforcement operations, requires them to display identifying information, and bars use of unmarked vehicles [2][3]. The DOJ characterized the law as "blatantly unconstitutional" and sought to block it before its scheduled effective date of July 7, 2026 [1][2].
The ordinance sits at the intersection of local sanctuary policy and federal immigration authority. The Supremacy Clause of Article VI of the Constitution provides that federal law supersedes conflicting state or local enactments, and the DOJ grounded its complaint in that provision [1][2]. Federal immigration enforcement, conducted principally by Immigration and Customs Enforcement under Title 8 of the U.S. Code, operates under statutory authority that the government argues Philadelphia cannot condition or constrain through municipal regulation [2][3]. The suit names city officials in their official capacities, a standard framing when plaintiffs seek prospective injunctive relief against governmental actors rather than personal liability.
The filing is consistent with a broader enforcement posture adopted by the Trump administration toward jurisdictions that have enacted laws or policies limiting cooperation with federal immigration operations [2]. Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate and Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Stanley Woodward are identified among the DOJ leadership overseeing the action [1]. Philadelphia has maintained sanctuary-aligned policies for several years, and Mayor Parker and District Attorney Krasner have each been public in their resistance to federal immigration enforcement priorities [2][3].
The lawsuit lands in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and the DOJ is expected to move promptly for a preliminary injunction to prevent the ordinance from taking effect on July 7 [2][3]. Philadelphia will need to respond to that motion on an expedited schedule if the court sets a briefing timeline consistent with the pre-effective-date posture. The city has signaled it intends to defend the ordinance, framing the law as a public safety measure designed to prevent residents from being unable to identify officers conducting enforcement actions [2][3]. Whether the court views the ordinance as an impermissible regulation of federal operations or a permissible exercise of local police power will turn on the scope and application of Supremacy Clause preemption doctrine.