Mayor wrong to impede ICE

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf is wrong to impede U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and is setting a dangerous precedent that threatens the rule of law across the country. The core reason is very basic — and has nothing to do with partisan politics, President Trump, or any person’s views on illegal immigration. Community “values” cannot dictate which national laws are followed. Schaaf has claimed that she must impede ICE’s actions due to Oakland’s “values.” However, the same arguments have been used by Kim Davis (the county clerk in Kentucky whose religious “values” were affronted in being forced to grant marriage licenses to gay couples), and by Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus (who called the Arkansas National Guard to block black students from entering Little Rock High School in 1957, against federal law). In those cases, overwhelming local “values” conflicted with federal law. But the verdict was clear: civic leaders cannot cherry-pick which laws they choose to follow — and the federal government ultimately enforced the laws.

If we as a nation go down Schaaf's path, then our entire national system of law and order could unravel. Mayors in conservative districts could attempt to abolish abortion or re-segregate schools, for example, citing local “values.” Our nation would become a patchwork of civil rights, environmental standards and safety codes — with federal law in those areas being effectively gutted. Paul Eric Davis, Lafayette