DoJ sues California over ‘sanctuary’ laws

“The State of California” is a marked escalation.

Sessions criticized Mayor Libby Schaaf in a speech Wednesday to law enforcement officials after he sued California over laws that restrict cooperation with USA immigration authorities. “There is no secession”, Sessions said.

The policy war between Trump and California (and vice versa) is not going to die down anytime soon. Jerry Brown; and the state’s attorney general, Xavier Becerra, over three state laws passed in recent months, saying they made it impossible for federal immigration officials to do their jobs and deport criminals who were born outside the United States. It is separate from other cases, now working their way through the courts, that are challenging the Justice Department’s efforts to withhold federal crime-fighting funds from sanctuary communities.

Those who support the sanctuary city policies say they increase public safety by promoting trust between immigrant communities and law enforcement. Sarah Pierce, an analyst with the Migration Policy Institute. And AB 103 requires the state’s attorney general to review the conditions at detention facilities that house undocumented immigrant detainees.

One loss for California came last month, when a San Diego federal judge paved the way for construction of a section of Trump’s proposed wall along the US southern border over the objections of Becerra and environmental groups who alleged the federal government didn’t properly review the project’s impact on the desert ecosystem. Another California legal action against Trump’s plans to build a border wall was struck down by a federal judge.

The suit, which administration lawyers planned to file in federal court in Sacramento, considerably raises the tension between the administration and the most populous state in the country.

The U.S. Justice Department is challenging three California laws that, among other things, bar police from asking people about their citizenship status or participating in federal immigration enforcement activities. In addition to immigration policy, Becerra’s office has sued the feds over everything from health care to environmental regulations to consumer rights. “I believe that we are going to win”.

He also called the Trump administration “full of liars”. The states are actually supposed to be supporting the federal government when it’s enforcing the law as required by the Constitution. Thus, there is no express conflict between the California law and federal immigration law, because the California law explicitly requires employers to comply with federal law. This is second paragraph of article VI of U.S. Constitution, which affirms supremacy of federal law and Constitution on laws of States. But the divisions are more urgent than policy lawsuits. He threatened to subpoena 23 sanctuary cities for documents showing compliance with the feds’ efforts to arrest undocumented immigrants in local custody.

ABOVE: Schaaf defends her decision to warn Oakland residents about ICE raids.

Californians, however, aren’t perturbed by the suit.

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in federal court in Sacramento, report Politico, Washington Post, the National Law Journal and the New York Times.

The attorney general referred to California officials as “open borders radicals”. “We did it!” trumpeted governor hopeful and Assemblyman Travis Allen in a tweet. We will remain a Sanctuary City.

In remarks during a press conference, Attorney General Becerra argued that California’s laws deterring cooperation with ICE are constitutional. And they weren’t just on immigration.

Sessions maintained his commitment to border security and legal immigration policies, accusing left-wing “extremists” of protecting “lawbreakers”.