In the latest sign that Trump’s Department of Justice isn’t about to let “sanctuary cities” off he hook, the LA Times reported Friday that the agency is reviewing the actions of Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, who last weekend alerted residents in advance of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid in Northern California.
“I think it’s outrageous that a mayor would circumvent federal authorities and certainly put them in danger by making a move such as that,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters.
She said Schaaf’s actions were under “review” but would not be more specific.
Schaaf has defended her statement, saying she felt it was her duty to warn residents of the ICE action.
Oakland, like many California cities, has declared itself a sanctuary for those here illegally, and officials there have vowed to fight President Trump’s immigration crackdown.
She has won praise from other officials in California. But the Trump administration has rebuked her.
The burgeoning feud between ICE and the mayor of Oakland intensified Friday when the head of the agency accused Mayor Libby Schaff of helping more than 800 violent and dangerous undocumented immigrants avoid capture during a series of raids conducted over the weekend.
The investigation wasn’t Speaking on “Fox and Friends” earlier this week, Homan accused Schaff of recklessly abetting criminals, saying her warning helped an estimated 800 “criminal aliens” avoid capture.
Meanwhile, James Schwab, a spokesman for ICE in San Francisco – a field office that spans 49 counties from Bakersfield to the Oregon border. They include someone convicted of carrying a loaded firearm and selling drugs, and another suspected of transporting cocaine and having sex with a minor, he said.
Immigration detainers lodged against them have been “repeatedly ignored,” Schwab said. “Instead they have been released back into the community to potentially reoffend.”
He also said federal authorities were examining her actions. During the three days of raids, the agency arrested about 150 people – half of whom had criminal records.
As we pointed out earlier this week, Homan accused Schaaf of putting politics above public safety, saying her decision to warn Oakland residents about this weekends raids was “no better than a gang lookout yelling police when a police cruiser comes to the neighborhood except she did it to entire community of the this is beyond the pale.”
Schaaf told the LA Times that she stands by her decision…
“My statement on Saturday was meant to give all residents time to learn their rights and know their legal options,” Schaaf said Tuesday in a statement. “It was my intention that one mother, or one father, would use the information to help keep their family together.
Some activists argued tat the mayor’s actions had unintended consequences, while others leapt to her defense.
“The main reaction that people have had has been fear, unfortunately,” said Eleni Wolfe, immigration program director at Centro Legal de la Raza, an Oakland-based advocacy group, in an interview earlier this week. “It’s terrifying to hear about the potential of increased enforcement action, and unfortunately that’s the main message that they heard.”
However, despite the controversy, we doubt this will be the last example of a “sanctuary city” mayor refusing to cooperate with federal law enforcement. In fact, their defiance recently prompted Trump to wearily declare that he might remove all federal immigration enforcement officials from “sanctuary states” like California, saying of the situation: “It’s a disgrace.”
via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/2GXlBTA Tyler Durden