Thread: GOP platform targets sanctuary cities

GOP platform targets sanctuary cities

Sunday, August 31, 2008

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(08-31) 04:00 PDT Minneapolis-St. Paul -- Pay attention, San Francisco and other self-proclaimed "sanctuary cities." The draft of 2008 Republican Platform wants cities that flout federal immigration law to pay a price - pocketing fewer federal dollars - for their sanctuary politics.

"The rule of law means guaranteeing to law enforcement the tools and coordination to deport criminal aliens without delay," the draft explains. And: "It means requiring cooperation among federal, state and local law enforcement and real consequences, including the denial of federal funds, for self-described sanctuary cities, which stand in open defiance of the federal and state statutes that expressly prohibit such sanctuary policies, and which endanger the lives of U.S. citizens." (My italics.)

In simple, direct language, the platform also asserts, "We oppose amnesty. The rule of law suffers if government policies encourage or reward illegal activity."

These are not the positions of John McCain. McCain supports a path to citizenship for otherwise law-abiding illegal aliens. He won't call it amnesty, but the GOP platform does.

In July, I asked McCain if, as president, he would penalize sanctuary cities that don't cooperate with federal immigration officials. McCain was unfamiliar with Chronicle stories about convicted illegal immigrant crack dealers who had gamed the city's sanctuary policy as it applies to juvenile offenders to avoid being handed over to the feds. One beneficiary of the city's refusal to hand over juvenile felons to the feds - a policy since rescinded by Mayor Gavin Newsom - was Edwin Ramos, who has been charged in the triple murder of Tony Bologna and his sons Michael, 20, and Matthew, 16. Ramos has pleaded not guilty. The Chronicle's Jaxon Van Derbeken reported Sunday that at least one dealer who claimed to be 16 when arrested in April is, in fact, 25.

McCain's answer: "I would push for federal action to carry out a federal responsibility. And a federal responsibility is immigration. It's not a city or a state or a sheriff's responsibility.

"We fail at the federal level to pass federal legislation, so you're going to have these different activities and different actions by different levels of government, all of which are because of the failure of federal government to enact comprehensive immigration reform."

When I asked if he would withhold federal funds, McCain answered, "I would have to look at the particular situations. First of all, I don't know if I could do it legally, to start with, secondly but I would attack the issue so that it would go away."

And: "You secure borders and you have a temporary worker program that works, you address the issue of the 12 million people who are here illegally, and you don't have to worry about that."

Clearly McCain did not have a big problem with sanctuary city policies in July. Sunday, when I asked the McCain campaign where he stood on the federal penalties on sanctuary cities in light of the GOP platform, a spokesman said he would let the old quotes stand.

California GOP Chairman Ron Nehring told me that he thought the platform made sense because "this is a law enforcement question" and because sanctuary city policies "directly undermine" law enforcement efforts to prosecute international drug and human-smuggling cartels. "In California," Nehring added, "we see this directly."

It turns out that Minneapolis and St. Paul are sanctuary cities. Some American cities passed sanctuary laws for benign reasons - to signal to illegal immigrants that they could report crimes to police and send their children to school - that is to protect otherwise law-abiding illegal immigrants. It took a city with the loony politics of San Francisco to turn that goal into a get-out-of-jail free card, not for hard-working families, but for savvy drug dealers and brazen convicted felons.

If Republicans could draft a bill that concentrates on withholding federal funds from sanctuary cities that enable career criminals, John McCain would have to get on board.


Sanctuary cities:

While San Francisco gets the press on its sanctuary policies, the movement is widespread, with cities in 25 states proclaiming themselves as sanctuaries.

Sanctuary counties:

Sonoma (Calif.); Rio Ariba (N.M.);

Marion (Ore.); Fairfax (Va.)

Some major sanctuary cities

Anchorage

Phoenix

Chicago

Detroit

New York

Dallas

Minneapolis

St. Paul

California has 28 sanctuary cities, among them:
Fresno

Los Angeles

Oakland

San Diego

Santa Cruz

San Francisco

San Jose

Sanctuary states:

Maine and Oregon

Source: Ohio Jobs & Justice Political Action Committee (links.sfgate.com/ZERU)
http://www.sfgate.com:80/cgi-bin/articl ... 12LM70.DTL

Houston
Austin

and dont forget, just recently added
Hartford CT

It would be great if this actually happened, that sanctuary cities lost federal funding for violating federal law and for encouraging illegal immigration. It was such a disappointment to hear Governor Haley Barbour say that to end birthright citizenship would go against Senator John McCain's beliefs. The other platform members should have held fast that this one magnet alone, once removed, would dramatically change the immediate ability for illegal aliens to get all types of free services and benefits and end this pathway to citizenship for every illegal alien family member here and contemplating coming in the future.

I believe that there are many more functioning "sanctuary" cities that do not have public statements or written letters to confirm this fact. Cleveland, TN allows illegal aliens to drive without licenses, without insurance, without identity and they even tell them how to have a business and get a business license from the City. There is no attempt to determine who these people are, their real identity or at least some identity. How many criminals are allowed to continue their illegal activities due to this policy? This is the City Police telling this to illegal aliens. Not only does this violate law, but it puts every resident at risk on any street that they travel. This is sanctuary.

Ephesians 4:32

I love the GOP platform, but that means naught if McCain gets into office, nor did it when GWB decided that global integration and mass immigration in any form possible was great for the New World Order and sunk the nation he swore to defend into the mess we face today.
I trust no one running for office from either major party.

When I asked if he would withhold federal funds, McCain answered, "I would have to look at the particular situations. First of all, I don't know if I could do it legally, to start with, secondly but I would attack the issue so that it would go away."

What does he mean "I don't know if I could do it legally, to start with". McCain COULD stop sanctuary cities if he wanted to.

I myself am sick of hearing about deporting criminals...they are all breaking the law and they should all be deported.PERIOD...Take away the job magnet and they will go home, it works, we just need the whole country doing it.

Then and only then if they need workers they can have a guest worker program ( With an exit program) without their families to have anchor babies that this government doesn't seem to want to address.

Originally Posted by jamesw62

Houston
Austin

and dont forget, just recently added
Hartford CT

YEAH!! We are finally being heard!
I'm from Maine and I'm all for us losing federal funding, because I know something will be done then!!!
Best news all day!

Since the Republican party is divided on immigration, anyway---the conservatives opposed to open borders and amnesty need to get busy and explain the reasons why to McCain. McCain is a self-styled Republican and apparently not above pandering to big money interests. Don't think he is hopeless--but would need a lot of work.

Originally Posted by Captainron

Republican and apparently not above pandering to big money interests. Don't think he is hopeless--but would need a lot of work.

I bet a stay back in the Hanoi Hilton would get his attention. You know after the Civil War Confederate President and former US Senator Jefferson Davis was jailed for treason, we should remind McCain of that.

Sanctuary Cities
http://www.capsweb.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=6