Jeff Sessions and the Justice Department are done playing around with sanctuary cities and states. Not only are they telling these jurisdictions to knock it off, they’re demanding proof that they are complying with federal law.
The DOJ just sent out this press release:
Justice Department Demands Documents and Threatens to Subpoena 23 Jurisdictions As Part of 8 U.S.C. 1373 Compliance ReviewThe Department of Justice today sent the attached letters to 23 jurisdictions, demanding the production of documents that could show whether each jurisdiction is unlawfully restricting information sharing by its law enforcement officers with federal immigration authorities.All 23 of these jurisdictions were previously contacted by the Justice Department, when the Department raised concerns about laws, policies, or practices that may violate 8 U.S.C. 1373, a federal statute that promotes information sharing related to immigration enforcement and with which compliance is a condition of FY2016 and FY2017 Byrne JAG awards.The letters also state that recipient jurisdictions that fail to respond, fail to respond completely, or fail to respond in a timely manner will be subject to a Department of Justice subpoena.“I continue to urge all jurisdictions under review to reconsider policies that place the safety of their communities and their residents at risk,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “Protecting criminal aliens from federal immigration authorities defies common sense and undermines the rule of law. We have seen too many examples of the threat to public safety represented by jurisdictions that actively thwart the federal government’s immigration enforcement—enough is enough.”
Sarah Flores, the spokeswoman for the Justice Department appeared on FOX and Friends Wednesday and explained that there will be consequences for non-compliance:
Here’s the list of places which were contacted:
– Chicago, Illinois- Cook County, Illinois- New York City, New York- State of California- Albany, New York- Berkeley, California- Bernalillo County, New Mexico- Burlington, Vermont- City and County of Denver, Colorado- Fremont, California- Jackson, Mississippi- King County, Washington- Lawrence, Massachusetts- City of Los Angeles, California- Louisville Metro, Kentucky- Monterey County, California- Sacramento County, California- City and County of San Francisco, California- Sonoma County, California- Watsonville, California- West Palm Beach, Florida- State of Illinois- State of Oregon
In reaction to this, mayors from many cities decided to skip a White House meeting with Trump.
NBC News reported:
Mayors’ group calls off Trump meeting after Justice Department threatens sanctuary citiesA prominent group of mayors meeting in Washington called off a scheduled White House meeting with President Donald Trump on Wednesday after the administration again threatened to withhold funding from nearly two dozen local governments they claimed aren’t following immigration laws.The bipartisan U.S. Conference of Mayors, whose annual winter meeting in the nation’s capital kicked off Wednesday, had been scheduled to sit down with Trump to talk about the opioid epidemic and infrastructure. But the group’s leader canceled the session, citing the White House’s “decision to threaten mayors and demonize immigrants yet again.”Dozens of mayors still met with the president as scheduled — just not under the banner of the USCM, as had been planned.
I can’t help but remember liberals wagging their fingers at the rest of America over Obamacare and saying it was the “law of the land.” They’ve obviously forgotten those days.
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