CRUEL TWI$T
IMMIGRATION WARNING Feds to city: End ‘sanctuary’ rule or we stop aid
THE FEDS ARE giving what they call a “last chance” warning to New York that the city’s immigrant-friendly policies may cost it federal grants.
A letter from the Justice Department released Thursday said officials believe New York is violating a law requiring cooperation on immigration enforcement — one of four cities put on notice they were out of compliance.
“This letter is to inform you that, based on a preliminary review, the department has determined that your jurisdiction appears to have laws, policies, or practices that violate” that section of law, Acting Assistant Attorney General Alan Hanson wrote to Elizabeth Glazer, director of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice.
A law enforcement grant received by the city requires compliance with the law, the letter states. New York banked $4.3 million from the program, the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant, in 2016.
President Trump vowed to strip federal funds from so-called sanctuary cities, which refuse to assist with some enforcement and deportation efforts against undocumented immigrants.
He has no legal authority to take away all funds, but the Department of Justice has pursued a more narrow path, looking to strip the cities of certain law enforcement grants.
The city has said its policies are legal, and vowed to sue if money is actually taken away.
“We are in compliance. We are fully in compliance with the law. The NYPD deserves the anti-terrorism funding they’ve gotten from the government, and if President Trump stops our funding for the NYPD, we will see the President in court,” Mayor de Blasio told reporters in Queens on Thursday. Similar letters went to Chicago, Philadelphia, and New Orleans telling them they’re out of compliance. “Jurisdictions that adopt so-called ‘sanctuary policies’ also adopt the view that the protection of criminal aliens is more important than the protection of law-abiding citizens and of the rule of law,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement. The letter gives the city until Oct. 27 to submit more documents proving they’re in compliance before the feds make a final decision about the money. New York refuses requests by the feds, known as detainers, to hold undocumented immigrants arrested for most crimes and turn them over for possible deportation.