Judge strikes down law underpinning Sessions’ anti-sanctuary city push
By Tal Kopan, CNN
Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the Trump administration were handed another stark defeat in their effort to punish sanctuary cities, with a judge declaring a law the administration had been relying on unconstitutional.
In a terse 58-page opinion, a Reagan-nominated district court judge thoroughly rebuked Sessions’ efforts to penalize sanctuary cities, saying efforts he has taken to impose immigration-related conditions on federal law enforcement grants are unconstitutional. The judge also called the underlying law that the administration has pointed to as justifying its efforts unconstitutional.
The ruling will only apply to the city of Chicago for now — but the judge said he intends for his ruling to apply nationwide.
Judge Harry Leinenweber had also previously temporarily blocked the grant conditions, which the appellate court upheld.
But now Leinenweber has gone even further — making his initial ruling permanent and going beyond it to strike down the underlying law, referred to as Section 1373.
The administration has pointed to the obscure law in all of its sanctuary city lawsuits, the vast majority of which it has lost. The law mandates that local governments share immigration status of individuals with the federal government.
The Justice Department has argued that law should be interpreted broadly to mandate cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. But citing a recent Supreme Court ruling, Leinenweber did the opposite — striking down the law itself as unconstitutional.
More: https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/27/politics/trump-sessions-defeat-sanctuary-cities/index.html
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Not only is Sessions’s attack on “sanctuary cities” illegal, it’s also just plain bad law enforcement policy. Sessions is “poisoning the well” for needed cooperation between the Feds and locals on real law enforcement initiatives for many years to come.
PWS
07-27-18