Sessions blasts California over ‘sanctuary’ policies
Speaking before a crowd of law enforcement officials in a state he had just accused of violating the Constitution, Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Wednesday excoriated California and some of its state and local leaders for passing laws and taking actions that he said obstruct immigration enforcement and put officers in danger.
In an unusually strident speech that emphasized the supremacy of the federal government by referencing Abraham Lincoln and secession, Sessions said California’s actions “directly and adversely impact the work of our federal officers” and “undermine the duly established immigration law in America.”
He took particular aim at Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, a Democrat, for warning constituents last month about an impending raid by Immigration and Customs Enforcement — alleging her comments prevented authorities from making 800 arrests. And he said he planned to use the full might of the federal government to bring her state in line.
“California, absolutely, appears to me, is using every power it has — powers it doesn’t have — to frustrate federal law enforcement,” Sessions said. “So you can be sure I’m going to use every power I have to stop them.”
The comments at the California Peace Officers Association’s annual gathering in Sacramento come a day after Sessions’ Justice Department sued the state of California, alleging that three recently passed laws that benefit undocumented immigrants are unconstitutional. The suit, which seeks to block the laws, is a remarkable escalation of the attorney general’s crackdown on sanctuary jurisdictions, and it drew swift criticism from state leaders, who insisted their laws would pass legal muster.
Those inside the Sawyer Hotel clapped loudly when Sessions was finished speaking. But outside, local television showed protesters lining the streets. California state leaders, meanwhile, girded for battle — noting that when Sessions’ Justice Department has come to court before to defend policies such as the travel ban or the wind-down of the Deferred Action for Early Childhood Arrivals program, it has often lost.
In fiery remarks after Sessions’ speech, California Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, said, “The Trump administration is full of liars,” and called on Sessions to apologize for “bringing the mendacity of Washington to California.”
He called the Justice Department’s lawsuit a “political stunt” and noted the irony of Sessions, who is from Alabama, talking about secession. He suggested the attorney general might be trying to get back into the good graces of President Donald Trump, who has publicly voiced displeasure about him.
“It really demeans the high office to which he has been appointed,” Brown said, adding later that Sessions was “initiating a reign of terror.”
Sessions’ speech touched on themes familiar to those who have followed his career, both in the Senate and as attorney general: rising violent crime, respect for law enforcement and illegal immigration. He said the United States “must have a lawful system of immigration” but insisted he was not trying to “wall off America from all immigrants.”
Sessions’ remarks were notable for their aggressiveness. At one point, after referencing the “wide variety of political opinions out there on immigration” and the law already on the books, he remarked: “There is no nullification. There is no secession. Federal law is the supreme law of the land. I would invite any doubters to go to Gettysburg, or to the tombstones of John C. Calhoun and Abraham Lincoln. This matter has been settled.”