Announcing the titanic move to hold sanctuary city officials and the cities they lead accountable for the illegal policies in which they are continuing to persist despite being informed of the illegality of those policies by the Trump Administration, the Department of Justice revealed that it is launching a legal assault upon not just the state of Connecticut and the city of New Haven, but many of the high ranking officials involved in those sanctuary zones.
Beginning the massively important press release, the DOJ made clear that it is not only the state and city that are facing serious legal reprisals for the sanctuary policies, but the officials themselves, which is something of a change for the department and makes these legal attacks much more likely to be taken seriously by the left.
The DOJ kicked off the statement by saying, “Yesterday, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Connecticut, Governor Lamont, Attorney General Tong, the City of New Haven, and Mayor Elicker to challenge the State’s and City’s sanctuary policies that interfere with the federal government’s enforcement of immigration laws.”
Continuing, the DOJ first identified what policies in particular it is going after, saying, “The complaint targets Connecticut’s so-called “Trust Act,” as well as other state and local sanctuary policies.” And, describing why its crackdown is so important, it said, “Not only are the policies illegal under federal law, but, as alleged in the complaint, they have allowed dangerous criminals to be released into Connecticut communities.”
Then, noting that the jurisdictions and their officials are in direct conflict with federal law with these moves, the DOJ explained, “The State’s and City’s intentional efforts to obstruct federal law enforcement put citizens at risk and are preempted under the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.”
Chiming in for a statement on the matter included in the press release, Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division explained, “For years, Connecticut communities have paid the price of these misguided sanctuary policies. This lawsuit seeks to end such open defiance of federal law.”
The DOJ also made it clear that this is part of a larger policy, saying, “The case, filed in the District of Connecticut, is the latest action from the Justice Department targeting illegal sanctuary policies across the country, including Minnesota, Boston, New York City, Los Angeles, New York State, Colorado, Illinois, Rochester, and several New Jersey cities.”
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Predictably, the sanctuary officials being sued are freaking out. Mayor Elicker, for instance, declared in an angry statement to the media, “The complaint that’s been submitted by the federal government has untruths in it and is misleading. There’s actually quotes from the executive order that have ‘dot dot dot’ where they don’t finish the sentence and the last part of the sentence of the executive order actually clarifies the beginning part.” Elicker added, “Our employees are abiding by both city, state, and federal law with the executive order that we have, and we will continue to do that.”
Similarly, Governor Lamont angrily declared that state laws “do not prevent federal authorities from enforcing immigration law.” He went on to declare that they instead “reflect a longstanding principle: the federal government cannot require states to use their personnel or resources to carry out federal enforcement responsibilities.”
“We will defend Connecticut’s laws vigorously against the complaints outlined in the federal government’s lawsuit. Our Trust Act and related policies are consistent with the Constitution and reflect our responsibility to govern responsibly, protect public safety, and uphold the rights of all residents,” the governor continued, Fox News reports.
“Connecticut respects the rule of law and the constitutional roles of both federal and state governments,” he then insisted. He further said “Connecticut law enforcement prioritizes serious criminal activity and works every day to keep our communities safe, while also respecting constitutional protections afforded to residents and maintaining trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve.”
Watch DHS Secretary Mullin reveal how he’s going after sanctuary cities here: