DOJ Takes Sanctuary Fight to Next Level... Threatens State with Subpoena Power
Attorney General Jeff Sessions slammed the so-called “sanctuary cities” of Seattle and Oakland and the entire state of Vermont on Friday for protecting illegal immigrants in America.
In a letter sent to each of those places, Sessions issued an ultimatum: willingly provide proof they’re complying with federal immigration laws and cooperating with officials from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or else be forced to do so.
The three regions must respond to the department’s information requests or fall victim to the Justice Department’s subpoena power.
“When cities and states enact policies that thwart the federal government’s ability to enforce federal immigration law, they choose to place the protection of criminal aliens over the safety of their communities,” Sessions said in a statement.
“The Justice Department will not tolerate this intentional effort to undermine public safety and the rule of law, and I continue to remind all jurisdictions to reconsider policies that put their residents in harm’s way,” he added.
As BizPac Review pointed out, local leaders of the regions Sessions targeted had their own choice of words when it came to the demand.
“The federal govt. does not get to run our cities or convert our local law enforcement officials into immigration cops,” Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan wrote on Twitter.
The federal govt. does not get to run our cities or convert our local law enforcement officials into immigration cops. I implore you: focus on real public safety threats, like the opioid crisis, instead of unnecessarily threatening our residents and mayors across the country.
— Jenny Durkan (@MayorJenny) April 13, 2018
“I implore you: focus on real public safety threats, like the opioid crisis, instead of unnecessarily threatening our residents and mayors across the country,” she added.
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf expressed similar sentiments, noting that she is proud her city can be a safe haven for illegal immigrants.
“Oakland is proud to be a sanctuary city and we are in compliance with federal immigration law,” Schaaf said in a statement.
Oakland has been a sanctuary city for some time now, and roughly two months ago, its mayor even warned illegal immigrants of an upcoming ICE operation.
Schaaf sent out an alert via email to residents of her city warning them that the operation conducted by ICE officials would be “starting soon, as within the next 24 hours.”
“Earlier today, I learned from multiple credible sources that the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is preparing to conduct an operation in the Bay Area, including Oakland,” her office said in a news release.
Shaaf claimed that her intention was not to “panic our residents but to protect them.”
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