U.S. Attorney General William Barr announced that the Department of Justice would be escalating its efforts to combat the policies of "sanctuary cities" to aid illegal aliens.

Barr made an announcement at the National Sheriff's Association 2020 Winter Legislative and Technology Conference on Monday.

"The department is filing a complaint against the State of New Jersey seeking declaratory and injunctive relief against its laws that forbid state and local law enforcement from sharing vital information about criminal aliens with DHS," Barr said, according to Fox News.

Barr went on to say the legal action against New Jersey is just one of a number of lawsuits against municipalities that employ "sanctuary city" policies to undermine the enforcement of federal immigration law.

"We are filing a complaint seeking declaratory and injunctive relief against King County, Washington, for the policy," Barr explained, "that forbids DHS from deporting aliens from the United States using King County International Airport."



Barr said the Justice Department would also be reviewing the actions of "certain district attorneys" who lessen charges against foreign nationals in order to avoid consequences of federal immigration enforcement from more serious charges.

"The express purpose of these policies is to shelter aliens whom local law enforcement has already arrested for crimes," Barr said. "This is neither lawful nor sensible."

Here's more about Barr's announcement: