California’s politicians who have been waging a War on President Trump now face a lawsuit from the Department of Justice over its new status as a “Sanctuary State“.
The Trump Justice Department filed a lawsuit Tuesday night against California, saying three recently-passed state laws were deliberately interfering with federal immigration policies.It marked the latest legal and political confrontation with the nation’s most populous state, which the federal government says has repeatedly stood in the way of its plans to step up enforcement actions in the workplace and against criminal aliens.”The Department of Justice and the Trump Administration are going to fight these unjust, unfair, and unconstitutional policies,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions was expected to tell California law enforcement officers on Wednesday. “We are fighting to make your jobs safer and to help you reduce crime in America.”
The Justice Department will allege that the California laws intentionally obstruct enforcement of federal immigration law and harm public safety.
The Justice Department will ask a federal judge to block the California laws, which restrict how state businesses and law enforcement agencies can cooperate with immigration authorities. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is to address the lawsuit in a speech Wednesday at the California Peace Officers Association’s 26th Annual Law Enforcement Day, saying, in part: “We are fighting to make your jobs safer and to help you reduce crime in America. And I believe we are going to win,” according to an excerpt of his prepared remarks.
Sessions has a reason to feel confident. A judge recently ruled that the Justice Department did not have to immediately dole out grant money to the Golden State that has been withheld over concerns over the “Sanctuary State” rules.
The amount of money at issue — $1 million — was relatively small and was at this point only delayed, not denied, U.S. District Judge William Orrick said. While he rejected the state’s request for a preliminary injunction to turn over the money, he also rejected a request by the U.S. Department of Justice to dismiss California’s lawsuit.The judge said the suit raised “weighty and novel constitutional issues” that would benefit from additional argument.
Meanwhile, Governor Jerry Brown is handling the situation with as much dignity and decorum as we would expect:
US AG Jeff Sessions traveled to Sacremento Wednesday, where he officially announced the complaint:
It appears the #Counter-resistance has had a good week, legally.
The complaint:
United States of America v. The State of California; Edmund Gerald Brown Jr; Governor, in his official capa… by Legal Insurrection on Scribd
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