Rep. James Walkinshaw sat down for an interview with Leland Vittert concerning the topic of sanctuary cities and things did not go the way he thought they would. During the conversation, Walkinshaw claimed that sanctuary cities did not, legally speaking, exist, a lie that he got called out for by Vittert live on television.
Vittert started the conversation by asking the purple state congressman how sanctuary cities could possibly help the immigration situation in the United States and all the problems that come with it. “Please tell me how sanctuary cities help this problem?” Vittert asked. “Well, there’s no such thing as a sanctuary city, Leland,” Walkinshaw responded.
Vittert immediately interjected and said, “Yes, there is.” Walkinshaw continued, “The federal government, ICE, CBP, other law enforcement agencies can detain undocumented immigrants in any city or county in this country. There is no sanctuary. The question is, should local police departments take their officers off of investigating hospitals”
No, it’s not. That’s not the rule. No, no, no, sir. No, sir. You’re changing the location,” Vittert said, growing passionate. “You’re entitled to your own opinion. You’re not entitled to your own facts. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of cities across America and dozens of states in America that do not honor ICE detainers. Okay, that is a sanctuary city.”
“That is not a sanctuary city,” Walkinshaw contended. Vittert provided further explanation of how that defines a sanctuary city by saying these locations have policies in place that prevent them from utilizing local law enforcement resources to help enforce immigration laws or provide assistance to ICE in enforcing immigration laws.
A clip of the interview was shared on X where users weighed in on the subject of sanctuary cities and the ridiculous attempt by the Virginia congressman to gaslight folks into thinking they don’t exist. “That claim is as flaky as a busted stock tip,” one individual wrote. “They definitely persistently deny reality and think that everyone is a moron,” someone else commented.
“I think we need to stop funding sanctuary cities. If they don’t wanna follow government rules, then they can figure out a way to fund themselves,” another user suggested. Someone else noted the similarity between sanctuary cities and harboring fugitives. “Giving sanctuary to criminals is a felony called harboring, any Mayor or Governor doing that should be arrested and prosecuted,” the user said.
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One user pointed out how Walkinshaw clearly knows that sanctuary cities exist, but is using a common liberal strategy, which is to change the meaning of words. “Given what is commonly accepted as ‘Sanctuary City’ of course there are. Walkinshaw knows he’s wrong so he tries to redefine terms. Standard liberal BS,” the user said.
“Walkinshaw also said that ‘local authorities shouldn’t be expected to house & feed Federal suspects in their jails. Federal authorities should do their job and get the correct paperwork,'” another person commented. “How can someone as massively ignorant as @Rep_Walkinshaw even be elected? UNREAL,” one user stated.
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video