Sessions asks ‘sanctuary cities’ to prove their compliance with immigration law

WASHINGTON — The immigration battle between the Trump administration and local governments escalated Wednesday, as the Justice Department increased its pressure on so-called sanctuary cities, and Democratic mayors from several of the country’s largest cities responded by canceling a meeting with the president.

The Justice Department asked 23 jurisdictions across the country to furnish documents proving that they had not kept information from federal immigration authorities. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said he would subpoena local governments that failed to respond in a thorough and timely manner.

“Protecting criminal aliens from federal immigration authorities defies common sense and undermines the rule of law,” Sessions said. “Enough is enough.”

In a forceful rebuke of the Justice Department’s request, mayors of New York, Chicago and other cities declined to attend a scheduled meeting to discuss infrastructure with President Donald Trump at the White House.

Mitch Landrieu, the mayor of New Orleans and the president of the United States Conference of Mayors, said at a news conference in Washington on Wednesday that he saw the Justice Department’s move as an “attack” and that he could not “in good conscience” attend the White House meeting.

“President Trump shouldn’t invite us to the White House for a meeting on infrastructure and three hours before issue the equivalent of what are arrest warrants for standing up for what we believe in and, by the way, what America believes in,” said Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, said Wednesday that the mayors should take their criticisms to Congress.

“The White House has been very clear that we don’t support sanctuary cities,” Sanders said. “We support enforcing the law and following the law.”

The protest by the mayors adds a local dimension to a roiling national debate over the Trump administration’s restrictive immigration agenda.

The 23 jurisdictions that were issued a letter demanding documents include cities in California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, Vermont and Washington, and the state of Oregon.