Sessions blasts sanctuary laws
Attorney general says he will use his power to stop California actions
SACRAMENTO , Calif. — Speaking before a crowd of law enforcement officials in a state he had just accused of violating the Constitution, Attorney General Jeff Sessions excoriated California and some of its state and local leaders Wednesday 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, 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 officials — alleging that her comments prevented authorities from making 800 arrests. And he said he plans 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 came a day after the 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 that their laws would pass legal muster.
Sessions’ comments also sharpen a burgeoning feud between the U.S. government and its most populous, and perhaps anti-Trump, state. Soon after he was finished speaking, the Trump campaign messaged supporters on the issue in an email with the subject line, “California vs. THE LAW.”
“Americans across the country now can see that Democrats have officially become the party of obstruction, lawlessness, government shutdowns, and of putting illegal immigrants before American citizens,” the email said.
State leaders, meanwhile, girded for battle. In fiery remarks after Sessions’ speech, Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown said, “The Trump administration is full of liars,” and called on Sessions to apologize for “bringing the mendacity of Washington to California.”
He said the Justice Department’s lawsuit was a “political stunt” and noted the irony of Sessions, who is from Alabama, talking about secession. He suggested that 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.”
Several sanctuary jurisdictions have sued the administration over its attempt to keep federal grant money from them, and the early skirmishes have gone against the Justice Department.