Los Angeles Mayor Defies Trump Administration’s Immigration Policy
The mayor of Los Angeles vowed on Wednesday not to comply with the Trump administration’s order to notify the Department of Homeland Security before releasing illegal aliens from custody.
“Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Tuesday that sanctuary cities must give federal immigration authorities access to jails and alert them when someone facing deportation will be released from custody, in order to receive certain law enforcement grants,” Fox News reported.
Democrat Mayor Eric Garcetti told BuzzFeed that his government will not comply with the order.
“We will not change what we are doing and our values are not for sale,” Garcetti said Wednesday. “This decision was more of the kind of ideological rhetoric that actually makes us less safe.”
The mayor further contended, “What they’re asking the city to do is in violation of the Constitution.”
Garcetti’s argument regarding why the DOJ’s policy is unconstitutional was not included in the story.
The federal government has the enumerated power to craft the country’s immigration laws, and it can withhold grant money if those seeking it are not in compliance with the grant’s parameters.
In March, Garcetti issued an executive order barring local government officials from assisting federal immigration officers.
Additionally, in 2014 the Los Angeles Police Department stated it would not honor detainer requests from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
The order further bars LA employees from granting any immigration agent access to a city facility not open to the public unless legally required to do so.
In a statement on Tuesday, Sessions contended that sanctuary city policies like those employed by Los Angeles are dangerous.
“So-called sanctuary policies make all of us less safe because they intentionally undermine our laws and protect illegal aliens who have committed crimes,” the attorney general said.
“These policies also encourage illegal immigration and even human trafficking by perpetuating the lie that in certain cities, illegal aliens can live outside the law … We must encourage these `sanctuary’ jurisdictions to change their policies and partner with federal law enforcement to remove criminals.” (For more from the author of “Los Angeles Mayor Defies Trump Administration’s Immigration Policy” please click HERE)
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