Sanctuary City mayors fire back at DOJ over criticism

Several mayors of “sanctuary cities” pushed back on President Trump’s administration after the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday sent out letters threatening to cut federal funding to cities that do not share immigration information with authorities.

“If anybody in the Trump administration would actually do some research before firing off letters, they would see that the city of New Orleans has already provided the Department of Justice documentation that shows we are in compliance with federal immigration laws,” Mitch Landrieu, the mayor of New Orleans, said in a statement according to CNN.

“This is another example of the Trump administration acting before doing their homework. The New Orleans Police Department will not be a part of President Trump’s civil deportation force no matter how many times they ask,” he added.

{mosads}Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel also blasted the DOJ’s threat, firmly stating that the city’s values and future “are not for sale.”

“We’ve seen the letter from DOJ. Neither the facts nor the law are on their side,” he said. “Regardless, let me be clear: Chicago’s values and Chicago’s future are not for sale.”

Perhaps the biggest controversy surrounding the DOJ’s demand was sparked by the department’s claim that New York City is “soft on crime.”

“New York City continues to see gang murder after gang murder, the predictable consequence of the city’s ‘soft on crime’ stance,” the DOJ said.
 
New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio (D) blasted the remark, calling it “unacceptable,” “outrageous” and “absurd” while also calling for the White House to renounce it.
 
“We did not become the safest big city in America by being ‘soft on crime,'” De Blasio said.
 
New York Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner James O’Neill also weighed in on the DOJ statement, saying that the accusation “is absolutely ludicrous.”

On Friday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions praised many of New York City’s policies, lauding the community for its low crime rate.

“We’ve had a disagreement with the mayor over sanctuary city policies, I strongly disagree with his ideas on that. But for many years now, the broken windows philosophy, community based policing philosophy, the way they process criminal cases in New York have created a murder rate far below that of cities like Chicago and Baltimore,” he said.