The attorney general was responding to the city's move to sue the Justice Department for withholding grants to so-called sanctuary cities, or cities which do not disclose information to federal authorities about illegal immigrants.
Sessions said Chicago had demonstrated "open hostility" toward the enforcement of federal immigration laws, and was instead allowing criminal aliens to prey on the city's residents.
He added that Chicago's policy of protecting criminal aliens had contributed to an unprecedented violent crime surge in the city, where Sessions said murder rates now surpass those of both New York and Los Angeles combined.
"The Mayor complains that the federal government's focus on enforcing the law would require a 'reordering of law enforcement practice in Chicago.' But that's just what Chicago needs: a recommitment to the rule of law and to policies that roll back the culture of lawlessness that has beset the city," Sessions said.
In July, Sessions announced new requirements for recipients of the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Programs to ensure that federal funding only goes to the cities that cooperate with federal authorities and share information on immigrant residents.
