If you’re waiting for Holder/Obama will pursue this action, I’ve got a bridge for you. Sanctuary cities may be facing legal action

Sanctuary cities may be facing legal action

  

OBAMA’S COUNTY AMONG TARGETS

After eviscerating most of Arizona’s strict immigration law in court last month, the Obama administration is now considering going after the other side by suing sanctuary cities to force them to cooperate with federal deportation efforts, an agency chief told Congress on Monday.

John Morton, director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said he’s asked Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to take legal action against Cook County, President Obama’s home county in Illinois, to force it to turn over illegal immigrants for removal. He said he’s now awaiting a final answer from the Justice Department.

SANCTUARY CITIES AND STATES ILLEGAL

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Sanctuary is a term for cities, counties, or states that are defying a federal law relative to the various government agencies being required to assist the federal government with their illegal immigrants. In 1996 a federal law was passed called the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIR) that requires local governments to cooperate with Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Contrary to this law, many of these governments are officially or unofficially defying the law and have passed various local policies to ignore the federal law and not question the status of suspected illegal immigrants. Those in defiance of the law prefer to call them undocumented workers and help protect the illegal immigrants from being deported.

“They wanted to see how certain pieces of court decisions came out. I expect to hear from them shortly, and I can tell you that resolving the issue in Cook County is very important for me,” Mr. Morton testified to the House Homeland Security subcommittee on the border.

Cook County officials decided several years ago they did not want to cooperate with federal authorities’ immigration efforts and stopped providing them information that could help with deportations of those booked into county jails.

Last year, the county enacted an ordinance officially halting compliance except in the most major of cases, and then only after they reached a financial agreement with the federal government to cover the costs.

Mr. Morton said that’s effectively dried up all cooperation.

“Right now, it’s not a question of Cook County releasing some individuals to us,” he said. “They are releasing no individuals to us, including very violent offenders, and I just don’t think that’s good policy.”

The Justice Department declined to comment on whether it is prepared to sue, but Mr. Morton said he and Homeland Security Secretary Janet A. Napolitano are both pushing for action to force Cook County to comply.  >>>MORE<<<