DOJ Threatens Jurisdictions With Subpoenas Over Immigrations Docs

The Department of Justice on Wednesday sent letters to 23 jurisdictions demanding that they produce documents that show whether they unlawfully stopped local law enforcement from sharing information with federal immigration authorities.

The DOJ said they had previously contacted all 23 jurisdictions. In the letters, the DOJ said that if the jurisdictions fail to respond completely or in a timely manner, they would be subject to a subpoena from the Department of Justice.

“I continue to urge all jurisdictions under review to reconsider policies that place the safety of their communities and their residents at risk,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a press release. “Protecting criminal aliens from federal immigration authorities defies common sense and undermines the rule of law. We have seen too many examples of the threat to public safety represented by jurisdictions that actively thwart the federal government’s immigration enforcement—enough is enough.”

The jurisdictions that received the letters are listed below:

• Chicago, Illinois;
• Cook County, Illinois;
• New York City, New York;
• State of California;
• Albany, New York;
• Berkeley, California;
• Bernalillo County, New Mexico;
• Burlington, Vermont;
• City and County of Denver, Colorado;
• Fremont, California;
• Jackson, Mississippi;
• King County, Washington;
• Lawrence, Massachusetts;
• City of Los Angeles, California;
• Louisville Metro, Kentucky;
• Monterey County, California;
• Sacramento County, California;
• City and County of San Francisco, California;
• Sonoma County, California;
• Watsonville, California;
• West Palm Beach, Florida;
• State of Illinois;
• State of Oregon.

The DOJ says that when it previously contacted these jurisdictions, it raised concerns "about laws, policies, or practices that may violate 8 U.S.C. 1373, a federal statute that promotes information sharing related to immigration enforcement and with which compliance is a condition of FY2016 and FY2017 Byrne JAG awards."

In the letters, the DOJ demanded the following documents:

All documents reflecting any orders, directives, instructions, or guidance to your law enforcement employees (including, but not limited to, police officers, correctional officers, and contract employees), whether formal or informal, that were distributed, produced, and/or in effect during the relevant timeframe, regarding whether and how these employees may, or may not, communicate with the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, and/or Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or their agents, whether directly or indirectly.

News of the DOJ letters came on the same day that mayors from across the United States were set to meet with President Donald Trump and now at least two mayors have pulled out of the meeting. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said he would not attend after the DOJ "decided to renew their racist assault on our immigrant community."

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, who is the president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, also said he would not attend.

"We are disappointed that a number of mayors have chosen to make a political stunt instead of participating in an important discussion with the President and his administration," White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said in an emailed statement to Patch. "President Trump is committed to tackling the challenges facing this country and looks forward to visiting with a large bi-partisan group of mayors that represent both rural and urban municipalities."

Mayors were in Washington D.C. on Wednesday for the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

Noah Manskar contributed reporting.

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Photo by Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press