GOP candidates criticize sanctuary cities

Illegal immigration looms over midterms

By the numbers, immigration may look like an impossible political divide. Polls find Republicans and Democrats split along party lines over President Donald Trump’s proposed southern border wall, a family separation policy for illegal immigrants and granting legal status to those who arrived as children.

Yet the divisions belie an underlying agreement among voters — nearly 70 percent see illegal immigration as a major problem, a recent Rasmussen survey found. They just aren’t overjoyed with efforts in Washington to limit the influx.

Against that backdrop, candidates in the November midterms are treading what may prove a lower-risk path by targeting socalled sanctuary cities. The variable term typically applies to towns and counties that limit their cooperation with federal immigration officials — a practice that may rankle a slim majority of voters, surveys suggest.

Focusing on that “lets you talk about [immigration] in a way that aligns with public sentiment,” said Christopher Borick, director at the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion in Allentown. “If you think immigration is a winning issue, you find the

winning frame.”

He called sanctuary cities “not very popular among the [political] center in a way that Republicans will recognize and try to make headways with.”

From broadcast commercials to talking points, the subject has become a key topic for GOP campaigns, including those of Pennsylvania gubernatorial nominee Scott Wagner, U.S. senatorial nominee Lou Barletta and U.S. House nominee Guy Reschenthaler in the 14th Congressional District.

“The majority of people in America do not support sanctuary cities. That attracts criminal aliens and then protects them,” said Mr. Barletta, who represents the 11th Congressional District.

He said it’s “common sense” that “criminal aliens” — including drug dealers — would be drawn to communities where they wouldn’t be reported, an argument disputed by some immigration advocacy groups.

Pennsylvania counties — such as Butler, Westmoreland, Erie, Clarion, Delaware and Philadelphia — have policies that generally classify them as sanctuaries, including by state lawmakers and the nonprofit Center for Immigration Studies in Washington. Mr. Barletta introduced legislation in Congress that would have severed federal funding for such places.

An appeals court in August struck down as unconstitutional a similar push by Mr. Trump, who threatened to cut money for sanctuary cities through an executive order. Mr. Barletta pledged to keep up the fight in the U.S. Senate if he beats the incumbent Democrat, Sen. Bob Casey.

Mr. Casey’s campaign did not comment on the issue this week. In a statement in 2016, he said that “any undocumented person who is committing serious violent crimes should be sent out of the country to never return.”

In the 14th Congressional District race, Democratic nominee Bibiana Boerio said voters don’t mention sanctuary cities to her. She said those communities can help “ensure that due process is being followed.”

Some cities that detain immigrants for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement without probable cause have faced litigation and legal fees, according to the Immigration Hub, a national advocacy group in Washington. Immigrants who see municipal police as an arm of ICE won’t risk reporting local crimes, the organization said.

“We need to think about what is the right way to preserve our long-term security, and sanctuary cities may be one [way] if it allows us to continue to get the best cooperation” for community safety, Ms. Boerio said.

Her opponent, Mr. Reschenthaler, a state senator, sponsored Senate Bill 10, which would have slashed state support for municipalities that pass laws contradicting federal immigration policy. The bill is shelved for now, but an attachment lists Pittsburgh among places that could lose money under the measure.

The city has straddled the sanctuary issue. While Pittsburgh doesn’t name itself a sanctuary, the city keeps its police from detaining people solely on claims about immigration. Officers should cooperate with ICE to help detain those found to be subject to criminal investigations, according to city rules.

Being undocumented is a civil offense, not a crime, high courts have found.

“We’re not going to be bullied away from our core principles of being an inclusive and welcoming city,” said Dan Gilman, chief of staff to Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto. The city’s “welcoming policies” improve police relationships in the community and help make sure all residents can get equal municipal services, Mr. Gilman said.

Mr. Reschenthaler’s campaign did not immediately comment on sanctuary cities. But Mr. Wagner, who cosponsored Senate Bill 10, would sign the legislation as governor, Wagner spokesman Andrew Romeo said. Sanctuary cities are “really something that’s on the minds of voters all across Pennsylvania,” he said.

The re-election campaign of Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, did not speak to the legislation. Mr. Wolf “believes that anyone who commits a violent crime, no matter who they are, should be locked up in prison,” the campaign said in a statement.

Mr. Wolf has called on the “federal government to pass immigration reform, increase security at the border and provide a pathway to citizenship for law-abiding immigrants,” his campaign said.

Sanctuary communities may prevent local agencies from cooperating with ICE detainers — a detention tool used to gain custody of illegal immigrants for deportation — or inhibit communication with federal officials, according to the Center for Immigration Studies. About 10,000 illegal immigrants released between 2014 and 2017 were arrested again for new crimes, the center has written.

Still, due process prevents police from detaining people who aren’t at least suspected of a crime, per an explanation from America’s Voice, another Washington advocacy group.

At the Immigration Hub, executive director Tyler Moran said there’s no evidence that sanctuary cities see more crime committed by illegal immigrants. Sanctuary cities don’t afford immigrants any special treatment if they’re picked up for crimes but shield “people’s constitutional right not to be detained without a warrant and probable cause,” Ms. Moran said.

“There is no sanctuary from prosecution,” she said.