LOS ANGELES – The county of Los Angeles was among three dozen jurisdictions filing a court brief Wednesday in opposition to President Donald Trump‘s executive order threatening to withhold federal funds from sanctuary cities.
The brief was filed in federal court in San Francisco in support of that city’s pending lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Trump’s proposed crackdown on cities that fail to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. Another brief was filed last week by many of the same jurisdictions in a similar lawsuit filed by Santa Clara County over the same issue.
The court papers argue that pulling funding from cities would threaten public health and safety, while noting that forcing local law enforcement agencies to become arms of federal immigration agencies would lead to a loss of cooperation between immigrants and police, with victims or witness of crimes opting not to come forward out of fear of deportation.
“Today, 36 cities and counties across the nation, representing over 24 million people, joined together to stand up for the health and safety of their communities and oppose President Trump’s ill-conceived and unconstitutional executive order that would require local jurisdictions to perform federal immigration work or risk losing unrelated federal funding,” said Kelly Dermody, an attorney for the coalition of jurisdictions. “Local jurisdictions are in the best position to set these priorities and they understand that driving some residents underground in fear of any interaction with local authorities makes every resident in that community, and those adjacent, less safe.”
Trump signed an order in January threatening a crackdown on cities that fail to report arrests of people potentially subject to deportation.
“Sanctuary jurisdictions across the United States willfully violate federal law in an attempt to shield aliens from removal from the United States,” the order states. “These jurisdictions have caused immeasurable harm to the American people and to the very fabric of our Republic…. We cannot faithfully execute the immigration laws of the United States if we exempt classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement.”
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Tuesday reinforced that stance, saying local jurisdictions seeking U.S. Department of Justice grants must first demonstrate they are not sanctuary cities.
Sessions said jurisdictions must prove they are in compliance with Section 1373 of U.S. Code Title 8, which requires notification of federal officials about the immigration status of people in local custody. The policy was issued under the Barack Obama administration in 2016, but was not enforced.
“The American people know that when cities and states refuse to help enforce immigration laws, our nation is less safe,” Sessions said.
Previous related story: Trump signs executive order on border wall, CA officials and activists react
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Laughing says
It really is a nuisance living in a state named by the Spanish, where so many of the streets, highways and places are in Spanish, and it is even connected to Mexico! But the names, so many put in place by old white guys that thought keeping everything ‘Spanish’ would be nice. Except maybe Huntington, he knew better….
Yeah, just yanking chains.
Bob says
WELCOME TO MEXIFORNIA!
Ruby says
… the hit ‘n run capitol of the world, it’s for good reason the rest of the nation refers to Southern California as, “Unidos Mexifornia.” Lawless nature how once beautiful California so sharply degenerated, ex post Simpson-Mazolli, those of us living in this filth and excrement offhandedly refer to it as, “little Tijuana.” Every rest room and ever park bench personally autographed, by a Mexican tagger-punk, it is here we boast bragging rights that nowhere on this planet are your children more likely to be run down, by an inebriated, uninsured hit-and run Mexican, than the sanctuary city of Southern California –
Tim Scott says
So move. If you believe even HALF of the false narrative you just posted, then MOVE. If you can find a way off the planet you could make the world a better place, but at the very least you could go SOMEWHERE else. The further the better.
Tim Scott says
Well, maybe not hard, but too much effort. Drop me a line at timshatemail at gmx dot com and we’ll work something out.
Tim Scott says
Just verified that account is still active and I remember the password. Looking forward to hearing from you.
Trump says
Clean it UP TRUMP.
To hell with the Clinton supporters and the idiot Governor Brown supported your a bunch of Puppets.
Laughing says
You forgot to malign those of us that are Independents that believe in keeping families together over deporting for minor stuff.
No Excuse says
If they were so worried about keeping their family together, they should have stayed in their home country, applied legally, and THEN come to this country.
Tim Scott says
Right. Because nothing says “family values” quite like staying in a miserable place and starving together. Why do I suspect that if you were in a miserable place with your kids starving you would abandon your morals right smartly?
BobM says
I just want the Raccoon’s out of the basement
LeRoy says
… hallmark characteristic of a sanctuary city: different laws, for different people; a variable judicial leniency gradient, across special interest and minority cohorts. Successfully so, the Obama administration sought to suppress black-on-white violence, and illegal immigrant violence in the mainstream media. To this day, his media blackout is still under enforcement. That the Obama administration never abdicated, that Barack and Michelle Obama still control America’s judiciary and America’s mainstream media, never in American history has a newly elected president enjoyed less power, than Donald Trump. Though President Trump controls the military, that’s about the extent of his power. Congress controlled by special interest groups, and the corporations, Trump is hamstrung, with no hope of accomplishing anything. Trump can count on zero cooperation, from anyone at state, county or municipal level. Any incursions into America’s sanctuary cities, he’ll have no choice but to use his military –
Tim Scott says
LOL…another Trump supporter demonstrates their absolute failure to understand the MOST BASIC tenets of US law. This glaring error is so obvious to anyone who has even a clue that I’m not even going to point it out, so that this Trumpist has to do a little bit of the research that should have been done before posting such an uninformed opinion in public.
Stop getting your information from propaganda sources, Trump supporters! Your refusal to be informed is why we are stuck with Dingbat Don in the first place. Time to take some responsibility.
Tony says
Tim, if you have a problem with the immigration laws on the books, suggest you get your fellow cohorts (people) who think like you and have congress change the laws. You just can’t break them to suit your belief ‘s. My source come from the penal code. Where does your source come from? as to pointing it out. Where does cities have the right not to enforce Federal law? As to Dingbat Don, Quit the name calling and I might listen to you
Tim Scott says
LOL…Tony, I have a counter offer. Show me ANYWHERE that ANY law says that it is the responsibility of local law enforcement to enforce federal law. Thing is, they don’t need a RIGHT NOT TO. There is no law saying that they HAVE to, so for them NOT TO breaks no laws. Point of fact there IS a law that specifically says that the congress shall pass no laws that would require, or even allow, state or local law enforcement to enforce immigration law.
I have NO problem with the immigration laws on the books. I have NO problem with the appropriate federal agency enforcing those laws. And I have NO problem with any state, county, or city that says “yeah, helping the feds isn’t what we pay you to do so just do your job.”
Meanwhile, this is not related in any way to what I said about Leroy’s comment. I was addressing the incredibly wrong headed idea that Dingbat Don could use “his” military in an “incursion” into a US city. NEWS FLASH Leroy…the US military is specifically prohibited by the Posse Comitatus Act from being used to enforce domestic policy. Fascist hero GWBush managed to squeeze a change to that law through when he had a Republican congress, but that change was repealed. So, NO, Dingbat Don can’t send “his” military into cities to enforce a non existent law that says they have to enforce federal laws. Sorry.
Tim is a fool says
You are nothing but a little brain man that hides behind a computer it’s obviously you are a Clinton supporter no brains just a puppet
Tim Scott says
LOL…so, in short, my explanation of the applicable law was so simple that even you could understand it, so now that you know there is no real argument you want to just call me names and hope to come away with some dignity. That probably won’t work on anyone with a lick of sense, but no doubt you run in a peer group that doesn’t have any. Good luck to you. Next time you need something simplified to a level you can grasp just ask.