Thread: Louisiana House of Representatives Passes Bill to Strip Funding from Sanctuary Cities

by KATIE MCHUGH
5 May 2016

The Louisiana House of Representatives is working to strip funding from sanctuary cities, after some such communities entered into a consent decree with Obama’s Department of Justice forbidding them from generally investigating suspects’ legal immigration status.

According to the Times-Picayune, the House passed a bill that “would ban New Orleans and other places the Louisiana Attorney General deems ‘sanctuary’ cities from using the state to borrow money for public building projects.” The bill will be sent to the Senate.

Led by Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, proponents of the bill moved quickly — New Orleans had ordered police to stop cooperating with federal immigration authorities in February. A consent decree published by the city of New Orleans reads: “NOPD members shall not make inquiries into an individual’s immigration status, except as authorized by this Chapter,” adding: “The enforcement of civil federal immigration laws falls exclusively within the authority of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE).” In effect, that stops local governments from enforcing immigration law when the federal government refuses to do so.

“The consent decree cannot preempt federal law,” Landry countered in the Times.

The city of New Orleans has vowed to fight the legislation. Democratic New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu defended illegal aliens in the city, turning the issue from an inquiry made by police after arresting a suspect into the prospect of pro-active police raids.

“NOPD will always work with federal immigration officials when there is a criminal warrant or following any crime. NOPD’s policy means we are going after violent criminals, not raiding churches and markets to apprehend people for civil immigration violations,” he said in a statement.

http://www.breitbart.com/big-governm...ctuary-cities/

Paul Murphy, WWL 6:26 PM. CDT May 06, 2016

New Orleans is one of two cities in Louisiana identified by some as a so called "Sanctuary City." The other is Lafayette.

A Sanctuary City is defined as a city with policies or laws that limit the extent to which law enforcement and other government employees will go to assist the federal government on immigration matters.

NOPD Superintendent Michael Harrison says immigration is a federal matter and it should be enforced by federal authorities.

"Many chiefs around the country, I stand with them and they stand with us that immigration is not a local police department issue to enforce," Harrison said. "

A 2012 consent decree called for sweeping policy changes within the NOPD.

It barred officers from questioning victims and witnesses of crime about their immigration status.

"When citizens or visitors call us and we respond to those calls, we're not asking them about their immigration status," Harrison said. "We are enforcing the law and providing the public service they ask us to provide when the call us."

A bill now moving through the legislature would prohibit Louisiana cities from receiving state dollars for construction projects if they don't enforce federal immigration laws.

It has the backing of state Attorney General Jeff Landry.

"There's a crime epidemic in New Orleans and I think the mayor and the police chief would agree," Landry said. "Allowing people to flagrantly violate the federal law sends a signal to the rest of the criminals around there that they can break any law they want."

Landry called the immigration policy in New Orleans a threat to local and national security.

"Everyone on the other side of this argument would like you to believe is that everybody's who's coming across the border, illegally, is like a good person," Landry said. "Now, I'm not telling you they're all bad, but again there are bad people coming across the border who will inflict pain and suffering and murder American citizens."

State Representative Walt Leger called the Sanctuary City bill, politically motivated and deeply flawed.

Leger said, "What the bill seeks to do is require the local government to subsidize the failure of the federal government to fully accomplish their mission on the immigration side and it suggests that our local law enforcement is not cooperating with federal officials. It's just not true."

"The city has entered into a consent decree related to these types of issues and there's nothing about it that says that our law enforcement will not work with federal officials," Leger added.

Gov. John Bel Edwards has not signed off on the bill.

"It seems like we should make some accommodation for court judgments, consent decrees, things of that nature because we're talking about some very serious sanctions." Edwards said.

The Sanctuary City bill passed in the House and is now headed to the state Senate for more debate.

http://www.wwltv.com/news/local/orle...eans/178073275

Penalize each and every Sanctuary City, Church and Business that aids and abets illegal criminal trespassers.

Demand that ALL Driver's Licenses issued to illegals are null and void. And the States that have not issued these licenses should confiscate them if they pull an illegal over with one.

Effective immediately...the States should not issue US Birth Certificates to the children of anyone born here by an illegal alien. Issue them a "Certificate of Child Born Abroad". No taxpayer benefits and report them to ICE.