The Justice Department under President Biden has issued a memo directing federal prosecutors to investigate state and local officials suspected of hindering federal immigration enforcement. This marks a significant shift in policy, focusing on challenging 'sanctuary' city laws and cracking down on illegal immigration.
The Justice Department has ordered federal prosecutors to investigate state or local officials who they believe are interfering with federal immigration efforts. The memo, from acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, signals a sharp turnabout in priorities from President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration.
The Justice Department’s civil division has been told to identify state and local laws and policies that “threaten to impede” the Trump administration’s immigration efforts and potentially challenge them in court. It also tells prosecutors that they will be on the front lines of an administration-wide effort to crack down on illegal immigration and border crime and that they are expected to carry out the policy vision of President Donald Trump’s Republican White House when it comes to violent crimes, the threat of international gangs and drug trafficking. ‘Indeed, it is the responsibility of the Justice Department to defend the Constitution, and accordingly, to lawfully execute the policies that the American people elected President Trump to implement,’ wrote Bove, who prior to joining the administration was part of the legal team that defended Trump against two criminal cases brought by the Justice Department. ‘Sanctuary’ has no legal definition, but the term encompasses a range of protection for immigrants, particularly those living in the U.S. illegally. Most often, the laws put legal limits on how law enforcement in those jurisdictions can cooperate with federal immigration authorities. Courts have repeatedly upheld most sanctuary laws, and legal experts said that while prosecutions are possible, they doubted the charges would have any traction in court. ‘What would you charge these people with?’ asked Robert J. McWhirter, a constitutional scholar and long-time Arizona-based immigration lawyer. ‘Nothing obligates local law enforcement to cooperate with federal law enforcement on any issue. Not even bank robbery.’ In Chicago, which has some of the strongest sanctuary protections nationwide, city leaders brushed off word of potential investigations. The nation’s third-largest city has been a sanctuary city for decades, limiting cooperation between police and federal immigration agents. ‘If the federal government is going to investigate, that is their prerogative,’ said Alderman Andre Vasqez, who is Mayor Brandon Johnson’s hand-picked chair of the City Council immigration committee. Vasquez, the son of two Guatemalan immigrants, noted a 2016 campaign rally at the University of Illinois Chicago that Trump abruptly scrapped as crowds of boisterous protesters grew. The cancellation remains a badge of honour for many young activists in the Democratic stronghold. ‘There will always be that kind of relationship between Chicago, President Trump and the Republican Party,’ said Vasquez. ‘I was born and raised in Chicago, in an immigrant family. It will take more than that to make me feel a little scared.’ Across the country, cities and towns were sending out reminders about the delicate balance of sanctuary laws, which draw distinctions between not cooperating with federal immigration officials, particularly U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and actively undermining those federal officials. New York’s police department, for example, told employees in a memo that they are not permitted to ‘assist in any manner with civil immigration enforcement,’ but also said they must not ‘take any action that will interfere with or impede civil immigration enforcement undertaken by federal authorities.’ In Denver, Mayor Mike Johnston said in a statement that the city ‘has been clear that we will coordinate with ICE on violent criminals,’ but added ‘we will not be bullied into doing ICE’s job for them.’ Bove’s memo directs prosecutors to investigate for potential criminal charges against state and local officials who obstruct or impede federal functions. As potential avenues for prosecution, the memo cites a conspiracy offence as well as a law prohibiting the harbouring of people in the country illegally. ‘Federal law prohibits state and local actors from resisting, obstructing and otherwise failing to comply with lawful immigration-related commands and requests,’ the memo says. ‘The U.S. Attorney’s Offices and litigating components of the Department of Justice shall investigate incidents involving any such misconduct for potential prosecution.’ But in Colorado, where state law bars local law enforcement from helping federal immigration agents without a court order, the attorney general’s office said it knew of no state or local officials obstructing immigration enforcement. ‘The federal government – not local law enforcement – is responsible for enforcing federal immigration laws,’ the office of Phil Weiser, a Democrat, said in a statement
IMMIGRATION JUSTICE DEPARTMENT FEDERAL PROSECUTORS SANCTUARY CITIES PRESIDENT BIDEN DONALD TRUMP
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