Councilmember M. Lorena González (Position 9, Citywide), Chair of the Council’s Gender Equity, Safe Communities, New Americans & Education Committee, issued the following statement after Attorney General Jeff Sessions threatened to subpoena King County’s records relating to immigration status:

“As the Chair of the Seattle City Council’s committee responsible for public safety and immigration policy, the City of Seattle stands ready to defend our values by remaining a Welcoming City.

“The Department of Justice’s threat to cancel federal public safety grants is reckless and places our entire community at risk. The Attorney General’s threat to do so is a thinly-veiled attack on the U.S. Constitution and a doubling-down on policies fueled by xenophobia.

“I look forward to working with our County partners to defend the integrity of our constitutional laws, including the Tenth Amendment, which provides that cities and counties do not have an affirmative duty to cooperate with federal law enforcement. The actions of the DOJ and the Trump Administration will not withstand legal scrutiny.

“A.G. Sessions’ threats and posturing is an attempt to distract our attention from Congress’ and the Trump Administration’s failure to renew the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. As these young Americans’ lives hang in the balance, we won’t be distracted with bluster and intimidation – our focus steadfastly remains on them and the growing movement for a Clean DREAM Act.”