Thread: Illegal Alien Sanctuary

This is an older article yet important. The "group" mentioned {in DC} might be able to shed some light on the possibility of lawsuits that we have been discussing.

[quote]Illegal Alien Sanctuary
By Steve Brown and Chris Coon
FrontPageMagazine.com | July 1, 2003

For decades liberal municipalities have enacted “sanctuary� programs for “undocumented residents.� These programs seek to offer illegal immigrants a safe haven on our shores; to prevent health problems form escalating in the immigrant communities, provide government services, ensure that illegals are not afraid to call police when a crime occurs and to provide refuge to those fleeing oppressive conditions in their native countries.

Often informal understandings between the local immigrant community and the municipalities, sanctuary policies have at times been codified to block civil servants from reporting illegal immigrants to federal immigration law enforcement authorities unless a major crime has occurred. In 1996, Congress passed a law excluding public servants from local sanctuary regulations that prevent them from cooperating with federal immigration authorities. Courts have upheld this law, forcing some of these localities to come in line and allow cooperation. But that has not stopped many liberal municipal governments from continuing to adopt the policies, which require public servants to break federal law.

Already these policies have caused major public safety problems:

* John Lee Malvo, the 16-year-old apprentice sniper that terrified the Washington, D.C.-area, had been stopped but not detained by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Washington State, where he had been briefly questioned by local authorities, has a sanctuary policy backed by widespread local political support for not actively pursuing illegal immigration.


* David Montiel Cruz, an illegal immigrant who kidnapped a nine year-old girl in San Jose, Calif. in June, had been arrested by police for auto theft and was found using multiple aliases. His illegal status was known to local law enforcement, but San Jose has an official policy barring city workers from questioning the immigration status of those they come into contact with. Immigration expert and syndicated columnist Michelle Malkin found that “according to the San Jose Police Department's official policy manual, officers may not ‘initiate police action when the primary objective is directed towards discovering the alien status of a person.’� This standing policy is seen by many to be partly responsible for allowing these horrors to occur.

* In Houston, Texas, Walter Alexander Sorto, ticketed several times for traffic violations, stands accused of the abduction, rape and murder of three women. Frustrated Houston police contend the city’s liberal “Don't ask, Don't tell� rules that bar them from inquiring about immigration status allowed him to remain on the streets. A 13-year-old girl, Laura Ayala was abducted just days after Sorto had been charged with failure to appear in court; no arrest had been made. Recent blood evidence has linked him to her disappearance in addition to the slayings he and his associates had already been accused of. Despite this tragedy and the federal statute that clearly nullifies the local ordinance, Houston officials are still defending this policy. John Leggio, the police chief’s spokesman told The Houston Chronicle that “It is our belief that our policy is in compliance with the law.�

* In New York City, the December 2002, rape of a woman in a Queens park could easily have been averted. According to reports four of five homeless men charged in that attack were in the country illegally. Three of them had been arrested by the New York Police Department before, but were later released instead of being turned over to federal authorities. The woman who was raped has recently filed a lawsuit against the city for allowing the homeless to live in a “shanty town�. The case is still pending. Until recently, New York City had an institutional policy against turning over illegals’ information to the federal government.

Immigration reform crusader Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) told Frontpagemag.com these incidents were just examples of “what is happening all over the country,� but expressed frustration that “there is no political will� to enforce federal law and repeal sanctuary policies.

Since 9/11 proponents of both sides have begun to take firmer stands and what had long been an underground battle has come into the public arena. Shortly after the catastrophic tragedy to his own city, New York’s Mayor Mike Bloomberg reaffirmed the sanctuary policies, saying, “People who are undocumented do not have to worry about city government going to the federal government.�

However, New York’s policy was challenged in court, leading Bloomberg to reluctantly overturn the sanctuary policy after it had been found unlawful. On June 6th, the mayor repealed the 25-year-old policy.

Unfortunately the ruling has not stopped some liberal cities from continuing the practice, which Mark Krikorian, executive director at the Washington D.C.-based Center for Immigration Studies, said “satisfies the elite,� but “limits the ability� of law enforcement “to detect terrorist cells early.�

The same week Bloomberg was bringing his city in line with the federal statutes; city council members in Portland, Maine, passed a resolution banning police and other city employees from asking the immigration status of persons they come into contact with unless they are determined to be a suspect in a major crime, have been previously deported, or deemed a threat to national security. Simple violation of immigration law does not fall within these guidelines, which, in and of themselves, violate the 1996 federal law.

Portland’s policyâ€â€

Informative article 2ndamendsis,

I wonder how close we are to critical mass....

FILE (Friends of Immigration Law Enforcement), a “D.C.-based association of attorneys, researchers, law enforcement officers, legislators, and other experts working on behalf of Americans to ensure that immigration law is being enforced� disagree. Spokesman Craig Nelson said that the Portland resolution “clearly contradicts case law.� He says that the statement by BICE is “disturbing to say the least� and that Bentley, “doesn’t seem to understand the (legal) precedent and has no business making such a comment.

It looks like someone is out there trying to do the right thing....I think I will mosey over to their website (that is if they have one) to see what is going on.

how can you give sanctuary to a "criminal alien"?

wouldn't "sanctuary" be considered the same thing as a "pardon" --- only the President has the "power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States" and IMHO that's restricted to citizens

there is no constitutional authority for "illegal aliens" that have "actually invaded" to be protected under any law

how can you give sanctuary to a "criminal alien"?

wouldn't "sanctuary" be considered the same thing as a "pardon" --- only the President has the "power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States" and IMHO that's restricted to citizens

there is no constitutional authority for "illegal aliens" that have "actually invaded" to be protected under any law