There’s a very easy solution to this problem: cooperate with federal officials, who are tasked with enforcing immigration law by the Constitution and duly passed immigration law at the federal level. Instead, the municipalities, counties, and state itself wants to be a sanctuary area for people who are unlawfully present in the United States
California preparing to sue Trump administration
California is poised to sue the Trump administration over the president’s latest attempt to punish jurisdictions tagged by the Justice Department as “sanctuary cities†that harbor undocumented immigrants, according to two sources close to the case.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra — in conjunction with other California city and county attorneys — is considering charging the Justice Department with violating the Constitution by threatening to take crime-fighting funds away from cities and states that do not fully cooperate with federal immigration agents, according to those sources.
“The cities and states affected by these provisions have strong arguments to make in court that these conditions are illegal,†said a former Justice Department official familiar with California officials’ thinking. “If Congress wanted these requirements to be part of the grant funding decision, they would have written it into the law.â€
California wasn’t complaining when Obama was threatening to cut funding from schools for failing to make them gender confused compliant, which was not part of the grant funding. Of course, there’s a big difference: the schools were not violating federal law, while the California jurisdictions are, along with protecting illegals, many of whom are actual criminals. If the jurisdictions aren’t using the fund to actually fight crime, most specifically illegal immigration, then they do not need the funds. If they’re willing to look away from people who are, at a minimum, trespassing on U.S. soil, they do not need the funds. If they can’t simply pick up a phone at call ICE, they do not need the funds. If they can’t hold an illegal alien for a mere 48 hours, per ICE detainers, they do not need the funds.
California was allocated nearly $18 million under that program in Fiscal 2017. To get future grants, municipalities will have to allow federal immigration agents access to detention facilities, and provide 48-hours notice before they release inmates who are wanted by federal authorities on suspicion of being in the country illegally.
How hard can that be? It’s not burdensome in the least. But these California jurisdictions choose to make things tough. And choices can have consequences.
Gil Duran, a Democratic strategist in California, said now is the time for officials to demonstrate “bold leadership and stand up for their highest values.â€
Apparently, those values represent protecting illegal aliens who murder, maim, harm, rape, burglarize, assault, and steal the identities of lawful U.S. residents and citizens. Perhaps Mr. Duran can discuss this bold leadership and those highest values with Kate Steinle. It would work as well as explaining Ted Kennedy being lionized by Democrats to Mary Jo Kopechne.
The left were fully on board with complete federal control of immigration when the city of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, passed its own ordinances designed to make it impossible for illegal immigrants to work or live there, and the federal courts shut that down. Now that we have an Administration which wants actually to enforce federal immigration law, the left have changed their tune.
However, President Trump and Congress should not withhold only federal law enforcement assistance funds; they should withhold all federal funds to cities and states not in compliance with the law.