The Department of Justice (DOJ) has warned 23 ‘sanctuary cities’, including Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York, that they face subpoenas if they fail to provide documents showing that local law enforcement officers share information with authorities from the federal government.
Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, outlined the demand on Wednesday, in an escalation of the determination by the Trump administration to punish local jurisdictions who fail to comply with immigration enforcement efforts, including sharing data on the legal status of local prisoners. The warning about subpoenas comes as Congress tries to restart talks over a revamp of the immigration system after a three-day government shutdown at the weekend resulted from lawmakers being unable to agree on the contentious issue.
Local officials, including the US Conference of Mayors president, Mitch Landrieu, the Mayor of New Orleans, protested quickly and strenuously. Landrieu said he would not now attend the White House meeting on Wednesday. The move was also slammed by Bill de Blasio, the Mayor of New York, who said he would also boycott the meeting. The move from the DOJ came as the group convened for their annual meeting, two blocks away from the White House.
As Attorney General, Sessions has made cracking down on sanctuary cities one of his major priorities. In a statement released on Wednesday, he said that he continues to urge all such jurisdictions to reconsider policies, which he says undermine the rule of law, defy common sense, and put communities at risk.