Latest news with #sanctuarypolicy
Yahoo
31-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Editorial: Hands off — Trump's off-base attack on NYC's sanctuary immigration policy
Intentionally misstating New York City's sanctuary immigration policy as thwarting the prosecution of violent criminals, the Trump administration continued its war on local government by filing suit in federal court last week, one of a number of similar lawsuits across the country that conflate civil noncooperation with active criminal interference and attempt to conscript local officials into President Donald Trump's destructive crackdown. This should prove to Mayor Mayor Adams and other state and city leaders that no amount of appeasement is going to forestall the targeting from Trump. Adams met multiple times with immigration coordinator Tom Homan, insisting that the two men had 'the same goal,' making concessions like signing off on the opening up of an ICE office on Rikers Island years after a city sanctuary law had kicked them out. It's clear that Trump and Homan were not and probably could not be placated to the extent that they would leave Adams and New York City alone. The reality is that this is a totalizing project; Stephen Miller and the rest of the White House want to rid the country almost entirely of immigrants, with or without legal status, and regardless of where they are or what effect that will have on our economy and society. They've been routinely violating the law to do so. It's worth noting once more that Trump's is a political movement that often proclaimed itself a defender of state rights and local control, but apparently that only extended to allowing local officials to detain immigrants, pull books from school shelves, limit access to abortion, curb labor and environmental protections and drive LGBTQ people from public life. When it comes to a refusal to participate in federal operations that have so far involved masked and unidentified agents shoving people into unmarked vehicles — just the sort of thing that we would call authoritarianism and tyranny anywhere else — then states and localities get no say beyond being extensions of a central government. We're not particularly worried that any competent judge would accept these nonsensical claims. A day after the New York case was filed, a federal judge in Chicago dismissed the Trump lawsuit against that city's sanctuary immigration policy. We just want to remind readers that sanctuary is not immunity from prosecution, especially prosecution for violent crimes. What it is however is that when someone is treated at a city health clinic for TB or enrolls a child in school or reports a crime to the police as a victim or a witness, the person's civil immigration status is irrelevant. We want everyone in the city to get treated when sick, we want all children to be in school, we want all crime victims and witnesses to come forward to the cops. The idea of anti-commandeering — the notion that the federal government can't force state and local governments to carry out its own agenda and enforcement functions — has been foundational from the genesis of our country's federalized system. The right of jurisdictions to enact sanctuary provisions that block the use of local resources for this federal function has been litigated over and over again, and always found to be on solid legal footing. We are, however, more worried about the U.S. Supreme Court, which has in the past several months taken it upon itself to sign off on Trump's expansive power grabs. It has allowed among other things Trump to fire federal employees and independent agency members in direct contravention of statute, allowed the limiting of a nationwide order blocking Trump's attempt to overturn the 14th Amendment's birthright citizenship provisions and allowed parents to impose religious beliefs on whole school curricula. If these questions get up to that high court level, we hope that the justices will exercise some of their independent power, as they did on other absolutely egregious instances like Trump's efforts to remove people without due process under the Alien Enemies Act proclamation. Anything else will destroy the trust of people in their own local officials and governments and strike at the very foundation of this country's system of government. _____
New York Times
12-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
U.S. Subpoenas Governor Who Said He Would House Migrant at His Home
Alina Habba, who has used her job as New Jersey's top federal prosecutor to aggressively target Democrats, is pursuing an investigation into remarks made by Gov. Philip D. Murphy about housing a migrant, according to three people with knowledge of the matter. Mr. Murphy said in February that he was prepared to house a woman whose immigration status was unclear at his family's home in Middletown. F.B.I. agents have since sought to interview at least four witnesses in connection with the comments, two of the people said, with one adding that the governor had been subpoenaed but not questioned. Ms. Habba, the interim U.S. attorney in New Jersey, is a former personal lawyer for President Trump. She previously announced that she was directing prosecutors in her office to investigate the governor and New Jersey's attorney general, Matthew J. Platkin, in connection with the state's immigration policies. Two of the people with knowledge of the investigation involving Mr. Murphy's comments indicated that it was separate from any Justice Department inquiry related to New Jersey's so-called sanctuary policy, which has been upheld by a federal appeals court. There has been no public sign of that inquiry moving forward. Mr. Murphy is one of at least four Democratic officials to become entangled in investigations pursued by Ms. Habba since she was named to the position in late March. Mr. Murphy made the remarks during a freewheeling discussion at a New Jersey college, telling an audience there that there was a person in his social orbit 'whose immigration status is not yet at the point that they are trying to get it to.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
L.A. will provide cash assistance to immigrants affected by raids
Mayor Karen Bass announced a plan Friday to provide direct cash assistance to people who have been affected by the Trump administration's sweeping immigration raids. The aid will be distributed using cash cards with a "couple hundred" dollars on them, which should be available in about a week, Bass said at a news conference. "You have people who don't want to leave their homes, who are not going to work, and they are in need of cash," she said. Bass spoke about a family she met who needed two incomes to afford their rent. After one of the breadwinners was detained in an immigration raid, she said, the family is concerned they may face eviction. It was not immediately clear what the qualifications will be needed to receive the cards. The mayor emphasized that the money will not come from city coffers but from philanthropic partners. The cards will be distributed by immigrants rights groups such as the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles. The city will coordinate between philanthropists and organizations distributing the cards, according to the mayor's office. The mayor compared the program to "Angeleno Cards," created by Mayor Eric Garcetti in 2020 to give financial assistance to people struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic. The announcement came during a Bass news conference about an executive order she signed Friday directing all city departments to "bolster protocols" and training on how to comply with the city's sanctuary policy, which states that city employees and city property may not be used to 'investigate, cite, arrest, hold, transfer or detain any person' for the purpose of immigration enforcement, except for serious crimes. Departments will have to come up with their plans within two weeks. The Trump administration sued the city over the sanctuary policy last month, arguing that it discriminates against organizations like ICE. Read more: Trump administration sues Mayor Karen Bass, L.A. City Council over sanctuary policy The executive order also creates a working group that will examine — and possibly update — the LAPD's policy on responding to immigration enforcement. Since 1979, the LAPD has taken a strong stance against enforcing federal immigration law, prohibiting its officers from initiating contact with anyone for the sole purpose of learning their immigration status. The executive order also includes a directive to file Freedom of Information Act requests for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to turn over records with the dates and locations of every raid in the city since June 6, as well as the identities of the people detained and the reason for their detention. The cash cards are one of a slew of announcements — including the executive order — this week by the mayor in response to the federal immigration crackdown in Los Angeles that has entered its second month. Earlier this week, Bass and the city attorney announced the city's intention to join a lawsuit calling for an end to the Trump administration's "unlawful" raids in the city. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
