More than 50 Democratic lawmakers are demanding that Attorney General Jeff Sessions explain his decision to withhold “critical violence prevention funds” from sanctuary cities that refuse to cooperate with federal officials on immigration.
The letter, sent late Thursday and signed by 12 Senate Democrats and 41 House Democrats, asked how Sessions has the statutory authority to withhold Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program grants from cities that do not adhere to his latest conditions regarding federal immigration law.
“These conditions are an unwarranted, coercive effort to leverage communities’ longstanding reliance on Byrne-JAG funds in furtherance of the Trump administration’s mass-deportation agenda,” Democrats wrote in their letter to Sessions. “By forcing local law enforcement to choose between redirecting resources from policing efforts to immigration enforcement or else sacrificing violence prevention funds that the Justice Department itself has described as ‘critical’ and ‘necessary,’ these new Byrne-JAG conditions will undermine the ability of local law enforcement agencies to combat gun violence in communities like Chicago and Baltimore.”
The lawmakers also want “credible evidence that demonstrates how redirecting local law enforcement resources to enforce civil immigration laws will bring about a significant reduction in shootings and homicides in the City of Chicago.”
In July, the Department of Justice announced three new conditions that cities and states must comply with — including allowing federal immigration agents into dentition facilities — in order to be eligible for JAG program grants in the upcoming fiscal year. In response, Chicago and other cities have sued the Justice Department.
“This administration will not simply give away grant dollars to city governments that proudly violate the rule of law and protect criminal aliens at the expense of public safety. So it’s this simple: Comply with the law or forego taxpayer dollars,” Sessions said this month in response to Chicago’s suit.
This week, the Justice Department filed its opposition to the City of Chicago’s lawsuit and two declarations in support of the department in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Sessions has made immigration one of his top priorities, and has linked so-called sanctuary policies with high crime rates.
