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    Sanctuary City Leaders Vow Defiance as DOJ Demands Compliance with Federal Law

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    In the wake of U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi issuing a deadline and demanding that sanctuary jurisdictions and their leaders comply with federal immigration law and start cooperating with federal authorities to crack down on illegal immigration, some of those to whom the threatening letters were sent are refusing to back down.

    For example, the far-left governor of Washington state, Gov. Bob Ferguson (D), fired off a letter back to AG Pam Bondi in which he snapped that his state and administration would not be “bullied” into compliance with American law by threats and letters of the sort issued by AG Bondi, citing the liberal state’s “values” as his reason for non-compliance.

    Beginning the letter, the governor claimed that AG Bondi hadn’t satisfactorily explained why his state  “has been identified” as a “so-called sanctuary jurisdiction,” and then went on to claim that Washington, in not complying with federal authorities, wasn’t breaking federal law regarding “federal obstruction, conspiracy, and harboring statutes.” In fact, he claimed her allegations were “baseless.”

    Then, getting to the bit in which he vowed to stand up to his state being “bullied” by the Trump Administration, the Washington governor wrote, ” You are hereby notified that Washington State will not be bullied or intimidated by threats and legally baseless accusations. In the America that I love and have taught my children to revere, we resolve our differences peacefully through public discourse and, if necessary, through the courts-not by threatening political opponents with imprisonment.”

    Adding to that, he said, “You take a different approach. You threaten me, police officers, state troopers, sheriffs, judges, and other officials with prison time. Why? Because our state legislature passed a bipartisan law that appropriately and lawfully limits the diversion of our state and local resources to federal immigration enforcement. Your threat to criminally prosecute state officials embarrasses and disgraces the office of the United States Attorney General.”

    Continuing, the governor claimed that he is complying with federal law despite not working with immigration authorities. He said, “Washington State is proud to be a welcoming community that values immigrants’ and refugees’ contributions to our economy and our cultural fabric. We do so while accounting for and complying with applicable federal law. If you really believe Washington State is in conflict with controlling federal law, you would make some effort to explain that. You did not, because you cannot.”

    He then cited his record of attacking the president during his first administration, saying, “In 2017, I was the first state attorney general to challenge President Trump’s efforts to trample our Constitution in court, and I was the first attorney general to defeat him. I, along with my team at the Washington Attorney General’s Office, went on to defeat the first Trump Administration 55 times. We were unsuccessful in just three cases.”

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    And, after vowing further suits, the governor vowed that he would “never” work with federal immigration authorities, saying, “You seem to believe that cavalierly threatening criminal prosecution will result in me compromising the values of my state. Never. You seek to have Washington State bend the knee to a Trump Administration that, day by day, drags us closer to authoritarianism. Never.”

    He then framed the decision to remain as a sanctuary state as a decision to “defend our democracy,” claiming, in the conclusion to his letter, “I am not intimidated by you or the President. I will defend our democracy, the rule of law, and the people of my state.” Watch Ferguson comment on not complying here:

    Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video