Chicago Files Lawsuit Against Justice Department Over Sanctuary Policies

Chicago Mayor, Rahm Emanuel (Photo Credit: Daniel X. O’Neil, Creative Commons 2.0)

In early August, Rahm Emanuel announced that the City of Chicago would be suing the Justice Department because of its recent decision to block the distribution of federal grant money to so-called sanctuary cities. According to the suit, Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ refusal to offer federal money to sanctuary cities is unlawful, as it overrides the power vested in Congress, which already approved the disbursal of those funds.  The mayor referred to Sessions’ policy as “blackmail.” He said, “Forcing us to choose between our values and our Police Department’s philosophy of community policing is a false choice, and it is a choice that would ultimately undermine our public safety agenda.”

Sanctuary Cities

Sanctuary cities are those cities which refuse to cooperate fully with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). They’ve become essential, as the President has expanded the scope of immigration law enforcement by giving broad authority to ICE. According to Trump’s executive order, it’s up to each agent to determine whether an immigrant “pose[s] a risk to public safety or national security.”

To combat this draconian measure, sanctuary cities utilize various tactics. Sometimes they refuse to hand over information regarding particular immigrants living in the city. And in many cases, they refuse to release immigrants to ICE agents for detention without a warrant. Several federal courts have ruled that local police are not required to detain allegedly illegal immigrants solely based on an order from the ICE. Warrantless detention, the courts say, is unconstitutional.

Context

Mayor Emanuel’s decision to sue the federal government comes after months of pressure from the administration. In an executive order signed on January 25th, President Donald Trump condemned sanctuary cities and ordered the Attorney General to cut off sanctuary jurisdictions from Federal grants unless they cooperated with the ICE. In April, the Office of the Attorney General sent a letter to nine cities, asking those jurisdictions to comply with 8 U.S. Code § 1373, which states that local governments are not allowed to interfere with ICE investigations. Failure to comply, the letters stated, would result in the cutting-off of federal grants. Then, on August 3rd, the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant solicitation was released with one pertinent condition: applicants must comply with the current federal immigration policy in order to receive funds.

Less Crime

To make matters worse, the Justice Department’s policy is based on a fiction. In a press release dated April 21st, the Attorney General’s office claimed that the nine jurisdictions in question have been riddled with immigrant-related crime. Specifically, the release noted, “The number of murders in Chicago has skyrocketed, rising more than 50 percent from the 2015 levels.” But studies abound showing that illegal immigrants are not more prone to crime and that cities refusing to comply with the current immigration policy have less criminal activity than other localities. One study found that sanctuary cities have 35.5 fewer crimes committed per 10,000 people when compared to other federally compliant jurisdictions. Not only that; poverty and unemployment are both lower in sanctuary cities.

According to another study, between 1990 and 2013, immigrants came pouring into the country. At the beginning of that period there were 3.5 million immigrants, and by the end of that period, there were three times that. During those two decades, the violent crime rate fell by 48 percent.

Political Maneuver

There’s reason to believe that Mayor Emanuel is not pure of purpose. He stands to earn political brownie points in a city that is rightfully critical of his political activity. After he appeared willing to work with Jeff Sessions and after years of perceived flip-flopping, the city has been showing signs of weariness. He has appeared as just another elitist politician.

Now, he can stand up to Jeff Sessions while risking very little. The federal grants, which would likely go toward police cruisers, amount to just $3 million. That’s three-hundredths of a percent of the city’s $9.8 billion budget. Thus, we should take this recent move with a grain (or sack) of salt.