Letters were sent to officials in California and major cities including New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and New Orleans, Las Vegas, Milwaukee, and Sacramento, as well as Cook County, Illinois. They all were identified by the DOJ’s inspector general as jurisdictions that limit the information local law enforcement can provide to federal immigration authorities about those in their custody, reports Fox News.
Alan Hanson, the acting assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s grant-making department wrote the letter, or at least, he signed it. But the letter says the DOJ is requiring cities submit proof they are complying with the federal immigration law, and they have until June 30 to respond.
“Failure to comply with this condition could result in the withholding of grant funds, suspension or termination of the grant, ineligibility for future … grants, or other action, as appropriate,” Hanson wrote. The DOJ could withhold or halt funding under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program, which funds state and local criminal justice programs.
Sessions continues to spew half-truths and lies
Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ hardline approach to immigration dates back to when he was in the U.S. Senate. As a Senator from Alabama, he walked on both sides of the fence when it came to many nationally important issues, from hate crimes to voting rights.
And the attorney general’s stance on immigration overflowed into a statement accompanying the letter that was sent to sanctuary cities that said, “many of these jurisdictions are also crumbling under the weight of illegal immigration and violent crime.” This is nothing more than the use of “fear tactics” by Sessions, and it’s right in line with what Trump used all during his campaign.
While crime and violence have risen in some cities across America, statistics show that that immigrants commit fewer crimes than U.S.-born citizens. The Hill reported on two studies released in March this year that specifically focused on crimes committed by immigrants.
One study done by the Cato Institute, a Libertarian organization, showed that there are about 2 million U.S-born citizens, 123,000 undocumented immigrants and 64,000 documented foreign citizens in U.S. jails. The Sentencing Project study showed that increased immigration “may have contributed to the historic drop in crime rates” since 1990.
It’s all enforcement-only, following the rhetoric of Trump that he used in the campaign and continues to use, making immigrants at fault for everything, from crime to the economy,” said Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.).
And New York City has been singled out by the DOJ – saying it “continues to see gang murder after gang murder, the predictable consequence of the city’s ‘soft on crime’ stance.”