Attorney General Bill Barr has defined sanctuary cities in America as those with policies that allow “criminal aliens to escape” federal law enforcement. He says that some cities are becoming “more aggressive” in undermining immigration authorities.
AG Barr announced plans today to put a stop to the lawlessness of sanctuary cities. During a speech at the National Sheriff’s Association 2020 Winter Legislative and Technology Conference in D.C. (video below), Barr confirmed that the DOJ will be filing several lawsuits against the sanctuary cities in a “significant escalation.” He will also put in place new national reviews of left-wing sanctuary governments:
“Today is a significant escalation in the federal government’s efforts to confront the resistance of ‘sanctuary cities.'” ~ AG Bill Barr
Barr is going after New Jersey’s sanctuary policies and Washington State’s policies:
“The department is filing a complaint against the State of New Jersey seeking declaratory and injunctive relief against its laws that forbid state and local law enforcement from sharing vital information about criminal aliens with DHS.”
ICE SLAMS New Jersey for “Limited Cooperation” In Case of Illegal Who Murdered and Raped Local Woman
“We are filing a complaint seeking declaratory and injunctive relief against King County, Washington, for the policy … that forbids DHS from deporting aliens from the United States using King County International Airport.”
‘SANCTUARY AIRPORTS?’ King County Airport to Ban ICE: “We are a welcoming community”
“Further, we are reviewing the practices, policies, and laws of other jurisdictions across the country. This includes assessing whether jurisdictions are complying with our criminal laws, in particular the criminal statute that prohibits the harboring or shielding of aliens in the United States.”
BARR IS ALSO GOING AFTER “LENIENT” DISTRICT ATTORNEYS:
‘We are meticulously reviewing the actions of certain district attorneys who have adopted policies of charging foreign nationals with lesser offenses for the express purpose of avoiding the federal immigration consequences of those nationals’ criminal conduct. In pursuing their personal ambitions and misguided notions of equal justice, these district attorneys are systematically violating the rule of law and may even be unlawfully discriminating against American citizens.”
AG Barr begins his speech at the 45:02 point in the video:
It’s about time that the cities across America put legal Americans first. The lawlessness has run rampant with different jurisdictions looking the other way while they release known criminal illegals onto the streets of their cities.
Just last November, AG Barr sent a sternly-worded letter to authorities in Oregon and Washington saying the sanctuary rules for a “safe space” for illegals doesn’t apply to ICE. In other words, ICE can and will arrest a criminal illegal alien even if they are in a designated sanctuary city:
“Under the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution, such rules cannot and will not govern the conduct of federal officers acting pursuant to duly enacted laws passed by Congress.”
