Happy to have AG Sessions at the @WhiteHouse to talk about enforcing US laws to #MakeAmericaSafeAgain https://t.co/YKjHY3aONk
— Sean Spicer (@PressSec) March 27, 2017
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions made an appearance at Monday’s White House press briefing, and delivered strong words against sanctuary cities. In these cities, local authorities choose not to abide by certain federal immigration laws, in order to protect undocumented immigrants. “The Department of Justice has a duty to enforce our nation’s laws, including our immigration laws,” Sessions said. “Those laws require us to promptly remove aliens when they are convicted or detained of [sic] certain crimes.”
Sessions said sanctuary city policies endanger American citizens and said “such policies cannot continue.” He cited a Department of Homeland Security report that in a single week, there were more than 200 instances of local authorities refusing to honor federal immigration requests to detain people charged or convicted of a serious crimes. “The President has rightly said disregard for law must end,” Sessions said.
The Attorney General said that failure to comply with federal laws — and to certify compliance with the laws — could result in the Department of Justice withholding or clawing back grants to non-complying cities and states.
“Public safety as well as national security are at stake,” he said. “Countless Americans would be alive today … if these policies of sanctuary cities were ended.”
[Image via screengrab]
