LAWMAKERS CALL OUT SESSIONS FOR HOLDING CITY VIOLENCE PREVENTION FUNDS HOSTAGE TO HIS EXTREME IMMIGRATION AGENDA

August 23, 2017

Justice Department admits new 'sanctuary cities' policy will impose additional costs on local law enforcement

d indicate a heightened degree of coerciveness to the Department's actions. Please list each Department of Justice grant, program, or initiative for which the Department has conditioned, or plans to condition, local jurisdictions' participation upon an assessment of compliance with the two new express conditions described on p. 30 of the Byrne-JAG solicitation form.

Does the Department of Justice believe that Byrne-JAG funding has helped local law enforcement agencies increase public safety, including by preventing and reducing shootings and homicides in their jurisdictions?

On March 6, Chuck Wexler, the executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, wrote an op-ed in which he said that "police chiefs warn that if their agencies are required to enforce federal immigration laws, it will hurt their ability to investigate and solve serious crimes in their communities. If people are afraid to have contact with the local police, they will not report crime, serve as witnesses, or tell police what is going on in their neighborhoods. Without information from the community, investigating crime becomes difficult and crime levels rise."[x] How do the Justice Department's two new express conditions avoid creating this dynamic that Mr. Wexler highlighted?

Is the Justice Department able to provide any 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? If so, please detail any such evidence.

Thank you for your attention on this important matter. We look forward to your prompt response.

[1] Sessions Confirmation Hearing Responses to Questions from Senator Durbin, Response 1.a, available at https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Sessions%20Responses%20to%20Durbin%20QFRs.pdf.

[1] https://www.bja.gov/jag/index.html, accessed on August 4, 2017 (emphasis added).

[1] Sessions Confirmation Hearing Responses to Questions from Senator Durbin at Response 1.b.

[1] https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/attorney-general-jeff-sessions-we-cannot-accept-these-levels-violence-chicago.

[1] https://www.bja.gov/Funding/JAGLocal17.pdf at p. 30.

[1] Id.

[1] See, e.g., Rafael Bernal, "Reports find that immigrants commit less crime than US-born citizens," The Hill, March 19, 2017, available at http://thehill.com/latino/324607-reports-find-that-immigrants-commit-less-crime-than-us-born-citizens.

[1] Kevin Rector, "Davis to DOJ: Making crime assistance contingent on local immigration policy 'perplexing,' 'concerning,'" The Baltimore Sun, August 15, 2017, available at: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-ci-bpd-justice-letter-20170815-story.html.

[1] Associated Press, "Cities baffled as Jeff Sessions targets them on immigration," August 3, 2017, available at http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/national-politics/article165146222.html.

[1] Chuck Wexler, "Police chiefs across the country support sanctuary cities because they keep crime down," Los Angeles Times, March 6, 2017, available at http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-wexler-sanctuary-cities-immigration-crime-20170306-story.html.

[i] Sessions Confirmation Hearing Responses to Questions from Senator Durbin, Response 1.a, available at https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Sessions%20Responses%20to%20Durbin%20QFRs.pdf.

[ii] https://www.bja.gov/jag/index.html, accessed on August 4, 2017 (emphasis added).

[iii] Sessions Confirmation Hearing Responses to Questions from Senator Durbin at Response 1.b.

[iv] https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/attorney-general-jeff-sessions-we-cannot-accept-these-levels-violence-chicago.

[v] https://www.bja.gov/Funding/JAGLocal17.pdf at p. 30.

[vi] Id.

[vii] See, e.g., Rafael Bernal, "Reports find that immigrants commit less crime than US-born citizens," The Hill, March 19, 2017, available at http://thehill.com/latino/324607-reports-find-that-immigrants-commit-less-crime-than-us-born-citizens.

[viii] Kevin Rector, "Davis to DOJ: Making crime assistance contingent on local immigration policy 'perplexing,' 'concerning,'" The Baltimore Sun, August 15, 2017, available at: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-ci-bpd-justice-letter-20170815-story.html.

[ix] Associated Press, "Cities baffled as Jeff Sessions targets them on immigration," August 3, 2017, available at http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/national-politics/article165146222.html.

[x] Chuck Wexler, "Police chiefs across the country support sanctuary cities because they keep crime down," Los Angeles Times, March 6, 2017, available at http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-wexler-sanctuary-cities-immigration-crime-20170306-story.html.