Trump administration will investigate state and local officials who hinder immigration crackdown
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department directed its prosecutors to investigate state or local officials who hinder President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration, according to a memo from the second-ranking official in the department.
The memo, dated Tuesday from acting deputy attorney general Emil Bove, suggests state and local officials who stand in the way of federal immigration enforcement under the Immigration and National Act and the Alien Enemies Act could be investigated.
"Laws and actions that threaten to impede Executive Branch immigration initiatives, including by prohibiting disclosures of information to federal authorities engaged in immigration-enforcement activities, threaten public safety and national security," Bove wrote. Resistance and obstruction should be reported to the department urgently, he added.
"The Justice Department must, and will, work to eradicate these threats," Bove wrote of cartels and transnational crime gangs.
The memo outlined enforcement of immigration-related measures for the FBI; Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the Bureau of Prisons.
Bolstering enforcement of immigration laws threatens a clash between the Trump administration and states and cities that have declared themselves sanctuaries for immigrants not legally in the country.
Trump signed an executive order Monday to deny federal funds to any "'sanctuary" jurisdictions. The order also directed the attorney general and secretary of Homeland Security to pursue criminal or civil cases against any jurisdictions that interfere with law enforcement.
Some city and state officials have vowed not to assist immigration enforcement. For example, New York City is a sanctuary city that limits cooperation with federal law enforcement.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Tuesday that state and local law enforcement authorities aren’t cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement except when immigrants have been convicted of violent crimes and should be deported. Pritzker said immigrants who are in the country without legal authorization shouldn’t be detained, for example, for speeding or while at work.
“Undocumented people who are actually law abiding or holding down jobs – they should be arrested simply because they are undocumented,” Pritzker told NBC News.
The Los Angeles City Council voted in November to prohibit city resources from being used for immigration enforcement in a city with 1.35 million immigrants, about one-third of the population.
“Immigrants make up the very fabric of Los Angeles and they deserve to feel safe and protected in the city they call home, no matter who is in power,” Council member Nithya Raman said at the time.
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted in December to prohibit law enforcement from contacting ICE officers without a warrant when immigrants are in custody.