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Part of presidential candidate Donald Trump’s platform on illegal immigration includes his opposition to sanctuary jurisdictions (cities, counties and states), on which he has not wavered.
Her name is Kate Steinle
President Trump’s most recent statement on that subject was his weekly address on December 9, 2017. Referring to a San Francisco jury’s acquittal of the illegal alien killer of Kate Steinle, President Trump said:
“Kate’s death is a tragedy that was entirely preventable. She was shot by an illegal alien and a 7-time convicted felon who had been deported five times – but he was free to harm an innocent American because our leaders refused to protect our border, and because San Francisco is a Sanctuary City. In Sanctuary States and Cities, innocent Americans are at the mercy of criminal aliens because state and local officials defy federal authorities and obstruct the enforcement of our immigration laws….
Unfortunately, Democrats in Congress not only oppose our efforts to stop illegal immigration and crack down on Sanctuary Cities – now they are demanding amnesty as a condition for funding the government.”
Did you know that there is a bill in Congress, H.R. 3003 – No Sanctuary for Criminal Acts, which was introduced by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) with 15 co-sponsors, none of whom of course is a Democrat.
H.R. 3003 would restrict the eligibility of sanctuary states or localities to receive certain DOJ or DHS grants. Instead, those grant funds would be reallocated to States and localities that comply with Federal law. H.R. 3003 would also provide for more robust detention of criminal aliens.
H.R. 3003 was introduced on June 22, 2017. A week later, on June 29, 2017, the Republican-majority House of Representatives passed the bill 228-195 without amendment. More than half a year ago, on July 10, 2017, the bill was received in the Senate, where it has languished since. If passed, President Trump will sign the bill into law.
Without the support of Congress (H.R. 3003), the Trump Administration is going it alone. But everything must be done carefully, and in accordance to law and due process.
In a press release yesterday, January 24, 2018, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a letter has been sent to 23 “sanctuary” jurisdictions.
The DOJ had previously contacted the 23 jurisdictions, raising “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 [grant] awards.” It is that information sharing that sanctuary jurisdictions precisely refuse.
In its January 24, 2018 letter to the 23 jurisdictions, the DOJ:
- Demands the production of documents that could show whether each jurisdiction is unlawfully restricting information sharing by its law enforcement officers with federal immigration authorities.
- States 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.
- States that the jurisdictions’ failure to comply with federal statute 8 U.S.C. 1373 (on immigration enforcement information sharing) could result in the Justice Department seeking the return of FY2016 grants, requiring additional conditions for receipt of any FY2017 Byrne JAG funding, and/or jurisdictions being deemed ineligible to receive FY2017 Byrne JAG funding.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions said:
“I continue to urge all jurisdictions under review to reconsider policies that place the safety of their communities and their residents at risk. 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.”
Below are the 23 jurisdictions, all Demonrat-infested:
- 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.
You can read the 23 letters here. Here’s a screenshot of the letter that was sent to Berkeley, CA:
