A lot of people’s feelings are about to get hurt on the west coast of America.
Just days after ‘Sanctuary City’ Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf warned criminal illegal immigrants that an ICE raid was imminent, Bloomberg reports that the US Justice Department plans to sue California in an effort to nullify three state laws it says interfere with federal immigration enforcement and violate the Constitution.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions plans to discuss the lawsuit during a speech he is scheduled to give on Wednesday at a law enforcement conference in Sacramento.
“The Department of Justice and the Trump administration are going to fight these unjust, unfair and unconstitutional policies that have been imposed,” Sessions wrote in his prepared remarks.
“We are fighting to make your jobs safer and to help you reduce crime in America.”
As a reminder, President Trump blasted Sanctuary Cities in his December video address…
California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) reacted immediately with horror…
“At a time of unprecedented political turmoil, Jeff Sessions has come to California to further divide and polarize America.
Jeff, these political stunts may be the norm in Washington, but they don’t work here. SAD!!!”
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) said during an interview last week with The Washington Post that the 10th Amendment “doesn’t give the federal government the right to determine or dictate how a state goes about doing public safety.”
“We don’t get in the way of the federal government in doing immigration enforcement, unless of course they do so in an unconstitutional manner. But they can’t get in the way of state public safety enforcement.”
Of course, Federal law trumps State law, unless, of course, California state officials want another civil war over states rights (which we suspect would be a problem given their lack of gun ownership).
In a statement released about the new lawsuit, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen said:
“California has chosen to purposefully contradict the will and responsibility of the Congress to protect our homeland. I appreciate the efforts of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the Department of Justice to uphold the rule of law and protect American communities.”
In the new lawsuit, expected to be filed today in federal court in Sacramento, the Justice Department wants to nullify Assembly Bill 450, which prohibits private companies from voluntarily cooperating with federal immigration agencies; Senate Bill 54, which restricts state and local law enforcement officials from voluntarily giving federal agents information about criminal aliens who are subject to removal from the U.S.; and Assembly Bill 103, which authorizes state authorities to review and inspect federal detention facilities in California.
And as WaPo notes, the Justice Department will enter court as the plaintiff in a suit, forcing California to appear as the defendant and make the case that its actions are legal.