President Trump has informed the American people that an immediate priority for his administration will be to require sanctuary cities to cooperate with federal laws. An estimated 650 criminal offenders are released onto California’s streets every month in violation of the transfer request into federal custody. California denies almost two-thirds of the nation’s rejected alien detainer requests. To deter sanctuary jurisdictions from harboring convicted criminals, the Trump administration should require Immigration, Customs and Enforcement (ICE) to publish a weekly report of all released criminal aliens that will be a public record.

Related: Sanctuary cities: Model leadership to ensure safety of most vulnerable

There are crucial reasons for state and local governments to allow law enforcement to fully cooperate with federal law. Sanctuary cities are magnets for previously deported aliens, gangs, drug traffickers, and other alien criminals who increase the crime rate.

An October 2014 report from ICE that was made public in 2015 detailed 276 sanctuary cities that released 8,145 illegal migrants of whom 1,867 were later arrested 4,298 times with multiple violations amounting to 7,491 charges. Illegal migrants are 3.5 percent of the U.S. population but are 37.6 percent of federal sentences and 13.6 percent of all offenders sentenced for crimes nationwide. The undocumented comprise 12 percent of murder sentences, 20 percent of kidnapping sentences and 16 percent of drug trafficking sentences. Unauthorized migrants are about 7 percent of the California population but over 12 percent of the state prison population.


President Donald Trump has said he will end “sanctuary cities” and that cities that refuse to cooperate with federal authorities will not receive taxpayer dollars.

Our laws cannot be left unenforced because someone here illegally fears reporting a crime. Peace officers generally do not require crime victims to provide an immigration status. All law enforcement officers have an absolute right to inquire of any person’s immigration status at their discretion. It is unfathomable that sanctuary ordinances restrict law enforcement from this right given it was unanimously affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court in Muehler v. Mena. Also, all local and state governments are required by federal law to share an immigration status with federal authorities pursuant 8 U.S. Code 1373.

An IGS-UC Berkeley poll shows that 74 percent of Californians want sanctuary cities ended; 65 percent of Hispanics, 70 percent of independents, 73 percent of Democrats and 82 percent of Republicans. Recognizing strong public concern, California’s law enforcement organizations should speak out against being restricted from cooperating with federal authorities, and demand compliance to make our communities safer.

Ignoring public safety, several California legislators are preparing to introduce bills to further impede federal officials. The Legislature hired former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to assist, but he will be incapable of preventing sanctuary legislation from causing the loss of major federal funding. A sanctuary city defunding proposal was decided for the 2017 Department of Justice budget in an agreement between House Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Rep. John Culberson, R-Texas, and U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch.


In July 2016, Lynch notified California that funding under the criminal alien assistance program, and other law enforcement grant programs, will be terminated if the state is found to be noncompliant with federal law. Renewal applications for those law enforcement grants commence next month. A 2016 report by the U.S. Department of Justice’s inspector general concluded that California is in violation of federal law. This will result in the state losing $135 million of grant funds that currently help cover the cost to incarcerate legal and illegal aliens.

House Appropriations Chairman Rep. Culberson was quoted saying that if the state of California does not change its law, the state will owe taxpayers a refund of $1.2 billion for previous federal funding. The congressman is referring to the Trust Act which since its 2014 passage has contributed to a 44 percent decrease in deportations from 15 counties with large illegal migrant populations. To stop the added taxpayer burden that will result from these penalties, the Trust Act must be overturned by the voters with a ballot measure containing permanent state laws that allow full cooperation with federal law. This solution is advocated by numerous law enforcement organizations.

Attorney General Lynch also communicated a stern warning that the Justice Department can take criminal or civil actions against public officials who violate federal law. A new attorney general can prosecute under the alien harboring and shielding statute, a federal felony for which a convicted public official can be fined, and or imprisoned. If Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Alabama, is confirmed as the new U.S. attorney general, it is probable these state defunding measures will be fully enforced while initiating other powerful penalties against the sanctuary state of California and its officials for violating federal law.

Hilton, a San Diego resident, is president of Taxpayer Revolution Foundation, which focuses on entitlement and immigration reforms.


Opinion

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