Lumumba vows to keep immigration law, fight DOJ

Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba has no intention of wavering off the city's commitment to prohibit Jackson police officers from soliciting the immigration status of an individual, even though the Department of Justice threatened to withhold federal funds from the city if it continued to do so.

Attorney General Jeff Session's Department of Justice targeted the city of Jackson and 28 other localities in violation of federal immigration law Wednesday, in a push against so-called sanctuary cities.

In a letter mistakenly addressed to former Mayor Tony Yarber, Session's office says the DOJ "is concerned" that a city ordinance prohibits police officers from gathering information related to an individual's immigration status.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Alan Hanson pointed to section 86-194 of the city's code of ordinances, which states that solicitation of immigration status by Jackson police officers is prohibited

Jackson is one of 29 cities or states the DOJ says is in violation of federal immigration law that "promotes information sharing related to immigration enforcement."

The ordinance falls under a subheading on racial and ethnic profiling. Section 86-193, for example, prohibits "bias-based policing" by police officers on the basis of appearance, ethnicity and immigration status, among other factors.

The letter says a Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) in the amount of $260,499, already awarded to the city, required compliance with section 1373 of the U.S. code dealing with communication between government agencies and the Immigration and Naturalization Service, or IMNS. The law states a local government cannot prevent another government entity or official from sending or receiving the immigration status of any individual from the IMNS.

Lumumba responded forcefully to the DOJ's threats.

"The city of Jackson is firmly committed to promoting and securing safe communities...Racial profiling is patently illegal, violating the U.S. Constitution's principle assurance of equal protection under the law to all and freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures," the mayor said in a news release.

Meanwhile, the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance, which pushed the city to pursue adopting racial and ethnic profiling ordinances, announced its opposition to the Department of Justice's campaign, and refuted the department's designation of Jackson as a "sanctuary city."

"This isn't a sanctuary city ordinance. It's a racial and ethnic ordinance," MIRA lead attorney L. Patricia Ice said. Ice drafted the 2010 ordinance that was then sponsored by then City Councilman Chokwe Lumumba. The Jackson City Council passed the ordinance by a vote of 6 to 1.

Years later, Sen. Sean Tindell, R-Gulfport, sponsored Senate Bill 2710 to prohibit Mississippi cities, counties, state agencies from "creating, planning, implementing, assisting, participating in, or enabling a sanctuary policy."

Gov. Phil Bryant signed the bill into law during the 2017 regular session.

.More: Immigrants add millions to Mississippi's economy

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The DOJ letter requests a response from the city on whether it will comply with the DOJ by Dec. 8, "should you (city of Jackson) receive a Byrne JAG grant for fiscal year 2017."

Lumumba said he is consulting with lawyers before announcing what steps the city plans on taking.

A federal judge in Philadelphia ruled Wednesday that DOJ law enforcement grants can't be withheld from Philadelphia because it refuses full cooperation with federal authorities on immigration, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

More: Mississippi's anti-'sanctuary cities' bill passes

The city of Jackson — with the exception of Louisville — was the only city or state in the South to be targeted by the DOJ. Nearly all targeted locations are in democratic strongholds, such as throughout California and in the northeastern region of the country.

Lumumba called the DOJ's crackdown unnecessary since immigrants statistically commit fewer crimes than the general population and going after them has a chilling effect when it comes to the reporting of crime.

"It's well established that when any community is afraid to be persecuted and deported, then that community will suffer all forms of abuse. And there's no evidence that profiling leads to less crime. In fact, the evidence shows that it only alienates communities from law enforcement," the mayor said.

The Hispanic population in Jackson is less than two percent, according to the U.S. Census, raising suspicions about DOJ's motivations, Ward 4 Councilman De'Keither Stamps said.

"Why Jackson? We're not Miami," he said.

"The real target is to take away our ability to get Housing and Urban Development funds, transportation funds, millions of dollars in funding. It's about money and resources," Stamps said.