Latest news with #SanctuaryLaws
Epoch Times
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Epoch Times
Trump Admin Sues Colorado, Denver for Sanctuary Laws Shielding Illegal Immigrants
The Trump administration filed a The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado on May 2, targets multiple state and local laws in Colorado and Denver, known as 'sanctuary laws.' These laws 'by intent and design interfere with and discriminate against the Federal Government's enforcement of federal immigration law,' the lawsuit states. The policies violate the 'Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution,' said the complaint. The Supremacy The United States government has 'well-established, preeminent, and preemptive authority' to regulate matters related to immigration, the lawsuit said. Federal immigration law preempts state and local laws that limit information sharing related to citizenship or immigration status of an individual with the federal government. Related Stories 4/14/2025 5/3/2025 'But that is exactly what the Sanctuary Laws do,' the complaint said. 'The Supremacy Clause also prohibits Colorado from singling out the Federal Government for adverse treatment—as the challenged laws do—thereby discriminating against the Federal Government. The Sanctuary Laws are themselves unlawful and cannot stand.' The lawsuit cites Colorado House It also cites Denver Executive The lawsuit highlighted the immigration issue in Aurora, Colorado, where members of the Tren de Aragua gang seized apartment complexes last year. The Tren de Aragua gang The lawsuit lists multiple officials as defendants in the case, including Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat. Polis's spokesperson Conor Cahill said that Colorado is not a sanctuary state and regularly works with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies. 'If the courts say that any Colorado law is not valid then we will follow the ruling,' Cahill said. 'We are not going to comment on the merits of the lawsuit.' The complaint was filed days after President Donald Trump The April 28 order accuses some states of defying federal immigration laws. 'This is a lawless insurrection against the supremacy of Federal law and the Federal Government's obligation to defend the territorial sovereignty of the United States,' it said. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem have been directed to pursue all legal avenues to bring non-compliant jurisdictions into compliance. Countering Gang Activities According to an Aug. 9, 2024, 'The gang's [motive] appears to be to unlawfully move gang members, as well as vulnerable immigrant families, into vacant units,' the letter said. 'The gang, which operates in the open and uses firearms to patrol 'their property,' has intimidated staff, stabbed at least one vulnerable immigrant in the apartments because of alleged non-payment, and otherwise terrorized the community.' The May 2 lawsuit from the U.S. government cited a Jan. 20 executive order signed by Trump, which warned that many illegal immigrants posed 'significant threats' to public safety and national security. 'Further exacerbating this national crisis, some of these criminal aliens find safe havens from federal law enforcement detection in so-called Sanctuary Cities where they live and work in communities whose members may become their crime victims,' said the complaint. 'The fact that a foreign terrorist organization could gain such a foothold in the United States of America is unacceptable. But it is the direct byproduct of the sanctuary policies pushed by the State of Colorado, and certain of its subdivisions,' said the lawsuit. 'This is a suit to put an end to those disastrous policies and restore the supremacy of federal immigration law.' In an April 29 The Associated Press contributed to the report.
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
DOJ sues Colorado, Denver for so-called ‘sanctuary laws'
DENVER (KDVR) — The U.S. Department of Justice is suing the state of Colorado and the city of Denver for laws and statutes the federal government says are 'sanctuary laws.' The federal government alleges in its lawsuit, filed in Colorado District Court on Friday, that the laws are designed to 'interfere with and discriminate against the Federal Government's enforcement of federal immigration law.' FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox The lawsuit specifically mentions the troubled Aurora apartment complexes that went viral after a video showing armed men in a stairwell was first reported on by FOX31's Vicente Arenas. The men in the video were later connected to Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang that's been publicized during recent immigration efforts under President Donald Trump. The lawsuit argues that federal immigration law preempts state law. Colorado has a law that prevents local law enforcement from enforcing federal immigration law, among other things, and it has been decried by many law enforcement advocates and at least three members of U.S. Congress. 'But the Sanctuary Laws were enacted for the sole purpose of impeding the Federal Government's ability to enforce immigration law and remove illegal aliens,' the lawsuit alleges. 'These sanctuary policies have 'tied the hands of law enforcement, emboldened dangerous criminals and left [Colorado's] communities vulnerable.'' The lawsuit specifically names Gov. Jared Polis, Attorney General Phil Weiser, Denver Sheriff Elias Diggins and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston. The mayor's office provided FOX31 with a statement, which said: 'Denver will not be bullied or blackmailed, least of all by an administration that has little regard for the law and even less for the truth. We follow all laws local, state, and federal and stand ready to defend our values.' Denver Mayor's Office The Colorado Governor's Office also spoke out against the lawsuit. The statement was released Friday afternoon to FOX31. 'Colorado is not a sanctuary state. The State of Colorado works with local, state and federal law enforcement regularly and we value our partnerships with local, county and federal law enforcement agencies to make Colorado safer. If the courts say that any Colorado law is not valid then we will follow the ruling. We are not going to comment on the merits of the lawsuit.' Colorado Governor's Office spokesperson The laws, as previously reported by FOX31, include: House Bill 19-1124, 'Protect Colorado Residents From Federal Government Overreach,' according to the text, allows law enforcement to cooperate or assist federal immigration authorities in the execution of a federal warrant, but prohibits law enforcement from arresting or detaining individuals based solely on a civil immigration detainer The measure also stops probation officers from giving someone's personal information to federal immigration authorities The measure also ensures that individuals who are to be interviewed via telephone or video by a federal immigration authority are informed of their rights House Bill 23-1100, 'Restrict Government Involvement in Immigration Detention,' prevents state or local government agency employees from entering into intergovernmental agreements allowing for law enforcement to rent bed space to ICE The measure also terminated two such agreements in the state The lawsuit alleges that the Denver statutes and Colorado laws are impeding federal immigration operations. Last weekend, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents joined local law enforcement in a raid of a Colorado Springs nightclub. Federal officials said they detained over 100 people and alleged that many were undocumented immigrants. The lawsuit notes that one of Colorado's laws prohibits state and local governments from being involved in immigration detention. The lawsuit says that currently, the ICE immigration detention center in Aurora is the only location where ICE can detain individuals within Colorado. 'Because ICE's Denver Field Office covers the entire states of Colorado and Wyoming, and the federal government can no longer temporarily house detainees in county detention facilities, immigration officers are forced to travel long distances, even at late hours and in poor weather conditions, to transport people to the Aurora facility,' the lawsuit states. '(F)ederal immigration authorities have to release individuals that it otherwise would detain or alternatively incur significant transport expenses that it would not have incurred prior to CRS 24-76.7-103.' The complaint also says that Colorado's laws 'impede DHS's ability to readily obtain from local law enforcement the release date' of undocumented immigrants that DHS believes are removable from the U.S. The lawsuit says that because of this, federal immigration officers are forced to 'engage in difficult and dangerous efforts to re-arrest' or 'determine that it is not appropriate to transfer' an undocumented immigrant to local custody in order to enforce immigration law. The DOJ is seeking a judgment that says Colorado and Denver's provisions violate the Supremacy Clause, which states 'the activities of the Federal Government are free from regulation by any state.' This is a developing story and will be updated as new information is obtained. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
ICE using Social Security records to aid Trump push to deport illegal immigrants
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has become the latest government agency to join President Donald Trump's deportation push, showing the president's whole-of-government approach to keeping a key campaign promise. "This is the Trump administration using every tool it has in its toolbox to crack down on illegal immigration," Tom Jones, the executive director of the American Accountability Foundation, told Fox News Digital. The comments come as the SSA sifts through the hundreds of thousands of immigrants who are in the country under "temporary parole" status that was granted during the Biden administration and allowed those migrants to have Social Security numbers in order to work. Florida's Largest Venezuelan Stronghold Poised To Join Forces With Ice: Report Trump administration officials claim that more than 6,300 of those people are on the FBI terrorist watch list or have FBI criminal records, according to a report from Axios. The SSA began moving the names of those migrants on the terrorist watch list to its "Death Master File," its current database of dead people, the report notes, adding that the agency has since moved those names to the "Ineligible Master File." Read On The Fox News App The move to tap the SSA comes as Trump has used every resource at his disposal to continue his deportation push, coming after the president used military forces to help secure the border and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to begin cross-checking information for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE). But not everyone has been fully on board with Trump's aggressive push, with the IRS and ICE partnerships leading to the resignation of IRS Acting Commissioner Melanie Krause last week. Blue State Sheriffs Combine Forces To Fight Back Against Sanctuary Laws Similar scenarios could play out at the SSA, with some of the agency's staff expressing concern over the data-sharing agreement. "Some agency staff have since checked the names and Social Security numbers of some of the youngest immigrants against data the agency typically uses to search for criminal history and found no evidence of crimes or law enforcement interactions," some staffers told the Washington Post. Jones believes the defections are an example of why Trump's shakeup of the federal workforce is long overdue. "The fact that IRS leadership resigned over cooperating with ICE shows exactly why there needs to be a concerned effort to ensure that the federal workforce is composed of leaders who are willing to implement the president's agenda," Jones said. "For every three senior officials who resign, there are dozens of civil servants below the radar screen who are in place and still able to obstruct the president's agenda." Nevertheless, Jones expects Trump to continue using whatever resources possible to make good on his immigration agenda. "The Social Security Administration is just one example. I suspect we will also see places like OSHA, which has staff on job sites, using their inspectors to target illegal alien workers and the businesses that employ them," Jones said. "This administration has been waiting years to deploy an aggressive America First playbook they built during four years in the wilderness."Original article source: ICE using Social Security records to aid Trump push to deport illegal immigrants
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Florida's largest Venezuelan stronghold poised to join forces with ICE: report
The city of Doral, Florida, a key hub for Venezuelan immigrants, is poised to ink an agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that would allow the city's law enforcement to carry out some immigration-enforcement operations. Members of the Doral City Council are expected to authorize a partnership with ICE through the 287(g) program on Wednesday, which would allow Doral police officers to carry out limited immigration enforcement, such as detentions, questioning and processing those suspected of breaking federal immigration laws, according to a report by the Miami Herald. The news comes as President Donald Trump has continued his push to ramp up deportation efforts across the country, an effort that has included the courting of several local law enforcement agencies to assist federal immigration authorities. Blue State Sheriffs Combine Forces To Fight Back Against Sanctuary Laws The inclusion of Doral in the effort would mark a seemingly surprising turn, with the city being home to one of the largest populations of Venezuelan immigrants in the country. That fact has sparked concern among many in the local population, most notably about potential racial profiling, though city officials have attempted to ease fears and said the partnership will focus strictly on lawful enforcement. "The intention isn't to detain anyone based on how they look," Council Member Rafael Pineyro told the Miami Herald. "We are obligated to follow federal and state laws, but the goal is not to target individuals based on appearance. Our focus remains on lawful enforcement, not profiling." Read On The Fox News App The 287(g) agreement being inked by Doral has seen widespread use in multiple states since Trump took office in January, allowing cooperation between local law enforcement agencies and ICE. Scoop: Arizona To Begin Removing As Many As 50K Noncitizens From Voter Rolls Following Lawsuit One part of the program focuses on identifying and processing illegal immigrants who are already in custody and eligible for deportation. Another part allows for local law enforcement to support ICE deportation operations in the field. The program permits some local law enforcement officers to participate in a 40-hour ICE training session, while also requiring that the local agencies keep in regular contact with ICE when carrying out immigration enforcement. Doral's involvement in the program comes as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has encouraged local cooperation with federal immigration authorities. The report notes that Florida law requires enforcement agencies in charge of county jails to be enrolled in 287(g) programs. Local activists continue to push back against the potential agreement. "By transforming local law enforcement into instruments of the Department of Homeland Security's enforcement, Doral's elected officials have broken the trust of the city's large Venezuelan community," Adelys Ferro, the executive director of the Venezuelan American Caucus, told the Miami Herald. "The community relies on the police for protection, not persecution."Original article source: Florida's largest Venezuelan stronghold poised to join forces with ICE: report
