Santa Clara County, California filed a motion seeking a nationwide court injunction on the president’s sanctuary executive order (EO), which threatens to withhold federal funds from local governments that prohibit communications with ICE. The county sued the Trump Administration earlier in the month alleging the sanctuary sanctions are unconstitutional.
A new poll conducted by the Harvard Center for American Political Studies and The Harris Poll of more than 2,000 registered voters found overwhelming opposition to sanctuary jurisdictions. 80% of respondents said they think cities that arrest illegal aliens for crimes should be required to turn them over to immigration authorities.
LifeZette -- Jim Stinson
Dane said Trump could not only enforce that law, but also begin freezing what federal funds he can legally hold up as president.
Breitbart News -- John Binder
The premise of The Atlantic’s argument claiming Trump’s order is forcing localities to enforce federal law is not particularly accurate.
In response to Pres. Trump’s executive order cutting federal funding to sanctuary jurisdictions Miami-Dade Mayor, Carlos Gimenez, has directed local authorities to honor all ICE detainer requests, ending their sanctuary policy.
Breitbart News -- Lee Stranahan
In his effort to force cities to cooperate with federal law enforcement and protect American sovieegntry, President Trump may have allies at the state level, as USA Today reports:
An illegal alien, Pedro Figueroa Zarceno, is suing the city of San Francisco for violating their sanctuary city policy by reporting him to ICE. Under their sanctuary policy, city resources are not allowed to be used to enforce federal immigration laws.
During a CNN town hall meeting yesterday, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., said he agreed with President-elect Trump’s policies on securing the border, deporting criminal aliens, and defunding sanctuary cities. Ryan also said he wants to find a “good, humane solution” for illegal aliens participating in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
According DHS’ official 2016 immigration enforcement report sanctuary cities released over 2,000 criminal illegal aliens back into their communities instead of working with ICE. This presents security concerns since under the Obama administration ICE only goes after the most serious criminal aliens.
The leaders of local-government “sanctuaries” asked President Obama to further shield illegal aliens before leaving office. Working under a group New York Mayor Bill de Blasio created, Cities for Action, the leaders asked Obama to front-load work permit extensions for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, and to extend Temporary Protected Status for illegal aliens residing in the United States.
A new study by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) examines the reasons sanctuary jurisdictions use to justify their policies and offers solutions on what tools the new Trump administration could use to address the problem and safety concerns they create.
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Tex., unveiled a plan to overhaul homeland security that includes: “extreme vetting” of foreign travelers; revamping the visa application process; immediate suspension of all immigration, including refugees, from high-risk areas; building a wall and increasing border assets; ending catch-and-release policies; reforming asylum standards; deporting criminal aliens; ending sanctuary cities; implementing a full entry-exit system; re-examining guest-worker programs; and mandating E-Verify.
Yesterday Gov. Greg Abbott (R-Texas) tweeted from his official twitter account that he will sign a new law that would ban sanctuary cities in the state of Texas. He also said he has already issued an order to cut funding to sanctuary cities.
President-elect Donald Trump pledged to block federal funding to sanctuary cities as part of his 100-day action plan, but the Democratic mayors of Chicago, New York City, and other cities say they won’t change their policies protecting criminal aliens. The new Administration may focus first on sanctuary cities that refuse to comply with ICE detainer requests while Congress considers legislation to further define sanctuary city prohibitions and the president’s sanctions authority.
The Washington Times reports an illegal alien pleaded guilty to causing a fire in the Sequoia National Forest last year that will scar the landscape for decades. The fire occurred after the alien’s release from jail, which was not reported to ICE due to California’s sanctuary law known as the TRUST Act.
A federal judge in the Northern District of Illinois voided thousands of ICE detainers requesting that deportable aliens and others be held in custody for 48 hours after their normal release to accommodate Agent pickup. The ruling increases the likelihood that aliens in at least six states will be released to the streets and disappear before they can be captured and placed in federal detention facilities.
The Department of Justice’s Inspector General has released a memorandum that finds that the practices of sanctuary jurisdictions violate federal law. This report was only made public after the Senate voted down Sen. Toomey’s bill that would have ended sanctuary practices.
There's been a lot of public outcry in the year since the tragic shooting death of San Francisco woman Kate Steinle at the hands of a seven-times convicted and five-times deported illegal alien who was set free because of the city's sanctuary policies. But Congress has done little to force jurisdictions to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement even when it has detained a violent criminal alien.
Under urging from Rep. John Culberson's (R-Texas), the Department of Justice announced today that it will block certain federal grants for cities that interfere with federal immigration agents. The DOJ directive requires state and local law enforcement agencies to take an oath that their policies do not interfere “in any way” with requests for immigration information from federal authorities.
Senate Democrats voted down procedural motions to begin debate on bills to strip funding from sanctuary cities (S. 3100) and impose stricter penalties on repeat border crossers (S. 2193). Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., complained the bills would undermine local law enforcement and overcrowd prisons. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said the bills were supported by the law enforcement community and designed to prevent more murders by illegal aliens.
Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Penn.) has introduced legislation that would limit funds for jurisdictions with sanctuary city polices who refuse to work with immigration officials. The legislation was fast-tracked to the Senate’s calendar, which means it will skip the usual committee process. This makes is likely that the Senate will vote on the bill, though a date has not been set yet.
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker issued a new policy that allows state police to detain certain removable aliens at the request of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) bureau. The move reverses a sanctuary policy imposed by former Gov. Deval Patrick that barred State Police from honoring ICE detention requests and limited communication between agencies.
Sheriff Charles Jenkins of Frederick County, Md. told a House panel that “(o)pen borders, reckless sanctuary policies, and failure to enforce our immigration laws have greatly impacted public safety and national security throughout every jurisdiction of this country. He linked the surge in unaccompanied alien minors crossing the border to a rise in alien gang crime, including attempted murder, armed robbery and the rape and sexual assault of children.
42 House Republicans, led by Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), sent a letter to the Appropriation Committees in charge of funding the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department asking them to deny federal funding to any jurisdictions that uphold sanctuary policies for illegal aliens.
Attorney General Loretta Lynch has issued a new policy that could encourage sanctuary jurisdictions to start cooperating with ICE deportation requests.
The Wisconsin Assembly passed legislation (AB 450) yesterday that would penalize local governments for maintaining policies that prevent officers from reporting the immigration status of anyone charged with a crime. If a judge finds a city in violation, state aid could be reduced by between $500 and $5,000 for each day the sanctuary policy remains in place. The measure now goes to the Senate.
Pres. Obama issued the final budget proposal of his tenure, making one last push for passage of “comprehensive immigration reform.” The President’s proposed budget would also end the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) that reimburses state and local prisons for housing criminal illegal aliens. It’s unlikely that Congress will even vote on the proposal.
The Florida House yesterday passed a bill (HB 675) that would penalize local governments for adopting illegal-alien sanctuary policies – i.e., those that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement officials -- and would provide a cause of action for personal injury or wrongful death caused by a city’s sanctuary policies. The bill now moves to the Florida Senate where it faces an uncertain fate.
Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., yesterday warned that the omnibus appropriations bill would quadruple a foreign worker program replacing Americans, expand the refugee program amid serious national security threats, and ignore the existence of dangerous Sanctuary Cities.
A bill that would target jurisdictions that enact sanctuary policies is moving through Pennsylvania’s state Senate. The bill is similar to Sen. Vitter’s Stop Sanctuary Cities Act that was blocked in the Senate in July.
The Senate blocked Sen. David Vitter's (R-La.) S.2146, the Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act, today that would have cut off funding for sanctuary jurisdictions. The bill failed despite getting support from a majority of Senators, 54-to-45, but failed to reach the 60 needed votes to come to the floor for debate.
The number of jurisdictions with sanctuary policies for illegal aliens have risen to an estimated 340 from 276 in July, according to an updated CIS study. The refusal of local authorities to give custody of deportable criminal aliens to ICE has resulted in the release of around 1,000 criminal aliens per month.
The North Carolina House approved H318, a bill that will protect American workers by increasing the use of E-Verify, limiting the types of valid IDs that will be recognized by the local and state authorities, and ending all sanctuary policies for illegal aliens. The bill now moves to Gov. Pat McCrory for his signature.
The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department announced a new plan that will allow ICE agents into the jails to interview illegal aliens and immigrants considered as serious public safety threats for possible deportation.
The Senate Judiciary Committee will not mark up Sen. Vitter’s (R-La.) Stop Sanctuary Cities Act (S. 1814) as planned today, Politico reports. Republicans are still working though differences on the measure. Sources on the Hill tell NumbersUSA that once Members agree on language, Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is likely to bypass committee and move to consider the bill on the Senate floor.
Prior to Steinle's death most California counties, including the entire Bay Area, had stopped working with ICE by mid-2014.
The Senate will adjourn for its month-long August recess this week without taking any substantial action against jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. This comes just two weeks after families of victims killed by illegal aliens begged the Senate Judiciary Committee to take action.
The House of Representatives approved H.R.3009, Rep. Duncan Hunter's (R-Calif.) sanctuary cities bill, last Thursday, hopefully starting a debate over the Obama Administration's efforts to severely weaken interior enforcement.
The House passed legislation that would block certain federal funds to jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate with ICE agents, and would authorize the Department of Justice to block policing grants to localities that similarly adopt sanctuary policies. The legislation is weaker than that the House passed earlier this year and does not address the Obama Administration’s sanctuary policies, such as the mass release criminal aliens.
The National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers (NAFBPO) issued a statement today on how sanctuary cities undermine the rule of law and the need for passage of H.R.1148, The Davis Oliver Act, which would "provide the tools that American Law Enforcement Officers need to reclaim and secure our nation's streets and communities." The bill would end the mass release of criminal aliens, allow local law enforcement to assist in the enforcement of federal laws, and help ensure the just, consistent and uniform application of federal law.
Two top DHS officials came under intense scrutiny during an oversight hearing held by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Leon Rodriguez and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Sarah Saldana were asked tough questions from both Republicans and Democrats on the Committee regarding their handling of state and local jurisdictions that refuse to communicate with ICE or comply with ICE detainers (sanctuary cities) and for the Obama Administration's release of more than 70,000 criminal aliens.
Yes, Congress must act to defund sanctuary cities until they cooperate with federal enforcement agencies. But Congress must also address the largest sanctuary jurisdiction of all: the federal government. Federal entities release nearly four times as many criminal aliens as do cities and other local jurisdictions with sanctuary policies.
Five families testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, retelling the stories of loved ones who lost their lives to an illegal alien who was set free by a sanctuary jurisdiction or Immigration and Customs Enforcement under the direction of the Obama Administration. Laura Wilkerson, whose son was tortured and burned to death by an illegal alien, best summed up the panel's message by saying, "I don't want your sympathy. I want you to do something about it."
The House Rules Committee has scheduled a hearing for Rep. Duncan Hunter's (R-Calif.) sanctuary cities bill, H.R.3009, for Wednesday afternoon. NumbersUSA has sent a notice to all House Members, telling them that we will oppose the Hunter legislation. Here's what was sent to House offices.
If any good can come from the tragic shooting of a San Francisco woman earlier this month at the hands of a five-times deported illegal alien, it's that Congress may finally take action to punish sanctuary jurisdictions that protect illegal aliens, including the federal government which has been releasing criminal aliens onto the streets.
As more attention is placed on sanctuary cities and how the policy affects those communities, a new report out from the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) shows that thousands of criminal aliens sought by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have been released by state and local jurisdictions with sanctuary policies.
In the wake of the shooting of Kate Steinle by a criminal alien who had been deported 5 times, a new poll shows that American voters want to clamp down on so-called "sanctuary cities" that refuse to enforce immigration laws. The accused, Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, said in an interview that he came back to San Francisco because he knew it to be a sanctuary city where he would not be pursued by immigration officials.
Pushed by Democratic Members of Congress and special interest groups, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson today announced DHS would further limit the detention of those who illegally crossed the border as family units. Johnson's announcement comes despite a FOX News report this week indicating that 84 percent of Central American families who were released during last year’s border surge failed to appear in court.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to terminate the 287(g) Memorandum of Understanding that allowed ICE Agents to expedite the deportation of felonious illegal aliens from within county jails. However the Board authorized the County Sheriff to negotiate with ICE regarding when ICE agents can enter county jails and interview criminals who are suspected illegal aliens.
