Sanctuary city slip-ups as LA released arsonist, Philadelphia released murder suspect
Sanctuary city slip-ups as LA released arsonist, Philadelphia released murder suspect
DHS identifies 118 sanctuary cities in first name-and-shame report
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The Washington Times - Monday, March 20, 2017
Homeland Security officials have identified 118 different sanctuary cities across the U.S., according to the first edition of President Trump’s new name-and-shame policy, released Monday, that suggested Clark County in Nevada and Nassau County in New York were likely the worst offenders in the first week.
During that period, from Jan, 28 through Feb. 3, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it became aware of some 206 illegal immigrants whom sanctuaries refused to turn over.
ICE said it expects that number to grow as it learns of more names.
Los Angeles refused to turn over a convicted arsonist from Mexico, while Philadelphia balked at cooperating on a Jamaican man accused of murder.
The numbers in the new report already show a major change from the Obama administration, which required illegal immigrants to have major convictions on their records to be a target for deportation. Instead, under Mr. Trump those charged with crimes — but not yet convicted for them — are being targeted, and the bar for criminal behavior earning deportation is lower.
Of the 206 people known to have been shielded by sanctuaries, just 87 were convicted of their key charges at this point. The rest were at the level of charges.
“There’s a clear public safety issue here,” said one Homeland Security official, briefing reporters on the numbers ahead of their release.
Domestic violence, drunken driving, drug offenses and sexual or aggravated assaults dominated the list. There were some striking cases as well, including the Riverside Regional Jail in
Hopewell City, Virginia, which released a convicted rapist, and three men — two in Texas and one in Oregon — convicted of indecent exposure.
In Maryland, Montgomery County and Prince George’s County each released men from El Salvador charged with assault. Both counties are on ICE’s sanctuary city list.
In Virginia, Arlington County is deemed a sanctuary, as is Chesterfield County, near Richmond.
The 118 cities identified by ICE as sanctuaries is far fewer than some other public accounts. The Ohio Jobs and Justice Political Action Committee, which has maintained a count for more than a decade, said it figures there are nearly 500 jurisdictions.
“Some of this comes down to what exactly a sanctuary city is,” a Homeland Security official explained.
Mr. Trump has promised to strip some federal funding from communities that refuse to cooperate with ICE agents.
An a Justice Department document released by the Obama administration said there’s already clear authority to halt at least three federal grant programs, including one that, ironically, pays local prisons and jails to hold illegal immigrants.
The federal government has paid out hundreds of millions of dollars to cities and counties to hold illegal immigrants that those same jurisdictions then refuse to turn them over to federal agents.
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