AG’s letter threatens 4 ‘sanctuary cities’
WASHINGTON — Attorney General Jeff Sessions took new steps Thursday to punish cities he believes are not cooperating with federal immigration agents in a move that was met with bewilderment by local officials who said they did not know why they were being singled out.
The Justice Department sent letters to four cities struggling with gun violence, telling them they would not be eligible for a program that provides money to combat drug trafficking and gang crime unless they give federal immigration authorities access to jails and notify agents before releasing inmates wanted on immigration violations.
Albuquerque, N.M., Baltimore and the California cities of Stockton and San Bernardino expressed interest in the Justice Department’s Public Safety Partnership, which enlists federal agents, analysts and technology to help communities find solutions to crime.
The threat marks Sessions’ latest effort to force local authorities to help federal agents detain and deport people living in the country illegally as part of a push to reduce crime he believes is linked to illegal immigration. The attorney general has repeatedly vowed to withhold federal money from cities that do not cooperate.
But it was not clear to some cities why they were targeted.
Richard Berry, the GOP mayor of Albuquerque, previously declared that his city is not a sanctuary for immigrants without legal status.
Another concern raised by cities is that police who patrol the streets book suspects into jails run by county or state authorities over which they have no control. The Justice Department’s letters focus on giving federal immigration agents access to such facilities.