The Justice Department announced Wednesday that the targeted places – including eight more cities and counties in California – haven’t adequately responded to written requests for information about their immigration policies in a “timely manner.”
Letters were sent to each of the jurisdictions on Wednesday, demanding they provide documentation that proves they are not violating federal law. That law – referred to as Section 1373 – mandates no state or local government can prevent their employees from communicating with Immigration and Naturalization Service officials regarding the citizenship or immigration status of any individual.
The Justice Department sent previous letters to the 23 jurisdictions in April or November asking for proof they were not violating the federal law. A senior DOJ official said in a call Wednesday that inclusion on this second list indicates the jurisdiction either did not respond or did not respond in a manner officials deemed sufficient.
“I continue to urge all jurisdictions under review to reconsider policies that place the safety of their communities and their residents at risk,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “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.”
“I continue to urge all jurisdictions under review to reconsider policies that place the safety of their communities and their residents at risk,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “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.”
Speaking at a press conference Wednesday to annouce the states 26th lawsuit against the Trump administration, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said that the state would comply with the federal request, but that California was in compliance with federal immigration rules.
“I will certainly tell you that the state of California complies with federal law,” said Becerra. “Everyone has to obey the law and in California we make it clear that you have to obey the law, so the state of California will.”
Becerra also said the state would guard against “overreach” of the application of federal laws.
Sacramento County did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, who has been a vocal advocate of the city’s sanctuary position, said through his spokesman that his “commitment to supporting, protecting and defending Sacramento’s immigrant communities is unwavering.”
Steinberg was traveling to Washington, D.C. Wednesday for the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
In California, Sessions’ requests seemed to focus on corrections departments. The letter to the state was sent to the Board of State and Community Corrections, which oversees both state adult and juvenile criminal justice detention facilities.
Jails, and how local law enforcement officers inside them interact with immigration officials, has been one of the key battlegrounds between sanctuary jurisdictions and the federal government. Acting ICE director Thomas Homan has previously said that jurisdictions that do not allow immigration agents to make arrests within jails put communities at risk by forcing ICE agents to detain people in public areas.
The Sacramento County Probation Department was another of the agencies to receive a letter from the justice department this week asking for detailed information including internal emails on how “employees may, or may not, communicate with the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, and/or Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”
Sacramento County Chief Probation Officer Lee Seale, who oversees the county’s juvenile detention facility, was not immediately available for comment.
From: The Sacramento Bee
See family unification and immigration. below
http://choosingdemocracy.blogspot.com/2018/01/family-unification-and-immigration.html
See family unification and immigration. below
http://choosingdemocracy.blogspot.com/2018/01/family-unification-and-immigration.html
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