WASHINGTON—As part of President Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration, the Justice Department will be given the power to investigate and even criminally prosecute government officials who don’t comply with immigration restriction orders.
The move, outlined in an internal memo reported Wednesday by multiple news outlets, comes after many state and local California officials have vocally championed measures to allow undocumented immigrants to work and receive an education. In effect, they are targeted. situation.
Memo from Acting U.S. Deputy Secretary Atty. Gen. Emile Beauvais will direct state and local officials to comply with federal immigration directives, echoing lines that President Trump hammered during the campaign about the threat of illegal immigration in the country, including gangs, drugs and crime. Research shows that immigrants commit crimes at lower rates than American citizens.
“Federal law prohibits state and local officials from resisting, obstructing, or otherwise disobeying lawful immigration-related orders,” the memo states. It added that the prosecutor’s office and the Department of Justice would investigate the wrongdoers. The statement also mentions a newly formed Sanctuary Cities Enforcement Task Force to challenge state and local sanctuary city laws.
As news of the internal memo spread Wednesday, government agencies and officials began considering how to respond to the threat of investigation and possible prosecution.
“This is a fear strategy, plain and simple. The president is trying to intimidate and bully state and local law enforcement into carrying out his mass deportation plan,” said California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said in a statement. “My team is reviewing the Department of Justice memo and stands ready to take legal action if the Trump administration’s vague threats turn into illegal activity.”
Bonta pointed to California’s sanctuary law, passed in 2017 and known as Senate Bill 54, which prohibits local law enforcement agencies from using public funds to play a direct role in immigration enforcement. Police are prohibited from transferring people to immigration authorities. Like when people are convicted of certain violent felonies and misdemeanors.
In 2019, a federal court rejected a lawsuit by the former Trump administration to halt SB54, ruling that the state law could continue to be enforced. The city of Huntington Beach sued the state of California this month over the constitutionality of the law.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office declined to comment.
Los Angeles City Councilman Bob Blumenfield, who represents districts in the San Fernando Valley that include many immigrant groups, has not read the memo, but says Los Angeles’ “sanctuary city” policy stops the federal government from deporting people. He said no.
“The question is whether we as a city would use federal resources to aid or abet deportation,” Blumenfield said. “Legally, I don’t think they can force us to do that.
“You always have to worry. Trump doesn’t play by the rules,” he added.
Asked about Trump’s order, Tony Thurmond, the state’s director of public instruction who opposes aid to ICE, said, “I don’t feel threatened. I want to talk to the president right now.” I’m glad. People don’t have to be intimidated.”
Since taking office on Monday, President Trump has signed a number of executive orders aimed at curbing illegal immigration, including cutting off federal funding to sanctuary cities and restricting birthrights for children of parents living in the country illegally. These include suspending citizenship and shutting down apps used by asylum seekers. A person seeking admission to the United States.
There is “fear and anxiety” among the estimated 86,800 undocumented students in California, according to the Higher Education Immigration Portal, at a University of California Board of Trustees meeting Wednesday in San Francisco. It was approved by the leaders.
“While we do not yet know what the future holds, we remain steadfast in our values, mission, and commitment to caring for and supporting the entire University of California community,” said President Michael V. Drake. .
Stephen Miller, the president’s deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security adviser, announced last month that his nonprofit organization, America First Legal, had chosen 249 elected law enforcement officials across the country. This memo was foreshadowed when he sent a letter to the public, warning them of the consequences of interference or interference. Obstructing the crackdown on illegal immigrants.
The letter states that it is a crime to illegally hide, harbor or protect people within the country. California officials who received the letter included Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell, and Bonta.
“On December 4, 2024, you stated as Attorney General that California would not enforce federal immigration laws and would encourage defiance by all California jurisdictions,” the letter to Bonta said, adding: It is tied like this. And other officials who support or enforce sanctuary laws, policies, and regulations have a very personal stake in this matter, and each of you is responsible for criminal prosecution and civil liability for illegal acts. You may be asked. ”
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said it will discuss President Trump’s directive “with our public safety partners, the county attorney, and other key stakeholders.”
“The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department complies with state law (SB54) and will not honor ICE requests or detainees or transfer individuals into ICE custody unless there is a federal judicial warrant signed by a judge.” No,” a ministry statement on Wednesday said.
Last year, Sheriff Robert Luna said in a television interview that he did not expect to change his department’s practices after Trump took office, emphasizing that immigration enforcement is not the job of sheriff’s deputies.
“There’s a lot of rhetoric out there,” he told ABC7. “We want people not to be afraid to call the sheriff’s department if they need anything. If they’re a witness to a crime, if they’re a victim of a crime, call us. We do not and will not ask people about their immigration status.”
But he added: “We are not going to help wipe out or deport the ordinary workers here.”
The Sheriff’s Office has a complicated and inconsistent record of interacting with federal immigration officials. During the tenure of two sheriffs, Jim McDonnell, now police chief, the department allowed ICE agents to use offices in the downtown inmate reception center. From there, immigration officers are free to approach and interview the inmate at any time, the agency previously told the Times.
When Alex Villanueva took office in 2018, he pushed ICE out of prisons and limited the criteria under which inmates can be transferred to federal detention centers for detention or deportation. The latest version of the Sheriff’s Office’s policy manual, posted online, said ICE agents are not allowed to enter jails, station jails or courthouse confinement areas for immigration enforcement purposes.
Art Acevedo, a former police chief in Houston and Miami and at one point a candidate to lead the Los Angeles Police Department, said local agencies have been forced to increase their focus on violent crime and property crimes, especially as law enforcement recruitment has become a challenge. He said they should be able to concentrate on the fight. many agencies. He emphasized that local police and lawmakers should work with federal partners to take violent criminals off the streets, depending on the situation. But he questioned how effective the new directive would be.
“It’s not really focused on public policy; rather, it’s focused on good political theater,” he told the Times on Wednesday. “We’ll see how much of it is rhetoric and how much of it is actual action taken against state and local officials. Time will tell.”
Mr. Piño reported from Washington, and Mr. Brakinger and Mr. Vives from Los Angeles. Times staff writers Dakota Smith, Teresa Watanabe, Taryn Luna and Howard Bloom contributed to this report.
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