Attorney General Jeff Sessions told a gathering of law enforcement officials in Virginia on Friday that he’s “hopeful” the Justice Department will not have to subpoena compliance documents from 23 jurisdictions flagged by the DOJ as immigration sanctuaries, “and that these cities and counties will show us that they are following the law.”
His comments capped off a week in which some mayors boycotted a meeting at the White House in response to the DOJ’s same-day notice that it was cracking down on sanctuary cities. New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, said “an attack on mayors who lead welcoming cities is an attack on everyone in the conference,” and accused the administration of wanting to “threaten mayors and demonize immigrants yet again — and use cities as a political prop in the process.”
At the Slover Library in Norfolk, Sessions said the government “cannot continue giving federal grants to cities that actively undermine the safety of federal law officers and intentionally frustrate efforts to reduce crime in their own cities.” He also called upon his former congressional colleagues to pass “a permanent fix to our immigration laws” that favors education and merit over a diversity lottery or family reunification.
“That means welcoming the best and the brightest but banning and deporting gang members, identity fraudsters, drunk drivers, and child abusers — making them inadmissible in this country,” the attorney general said. “…A merit-based system is the law in places like Canada and Australia. In those countries, future Canadians and future Australians are chosen based on their likelihood of assimilating, thriving, and contributing to society as a whole.”
“That kind of system would be great for our economy, of course. Much more importantly, it would be the best way to ensure that our immigration system does not continue to harm our national security. Immigration is a national security issue.”
As a bipartisan team negotiates immigration legislation in Congress, the White House issued their own plan this week that would give 1.8 million current and eligible Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals beneficiaries a 10-12 year path to citizenship, limit family reunification to spouses and minor children, eliminate the visa lottery and establish a “$25 billion trust fund for the border wall system, ports of entry/exit, and northern border improvements and enhancements.”
Sessions argued that “perhaps most importantly, the wall will send a message to the world that in the United States of America, we enforce our laws.”
“And to better achieve that, President Trump has proposed hiring more than 10,000 new ICE officers, 1,000 new ICE attorneys, 300 new immigration prosecutors, and nearly 400 new immigration judges,” he said. “With these new resources, our immigration system will move faster and more efficiently.”
Sessions did not take questions at the event, but acknowledged “there have been some sharp criticisms about the Department of Justice” lately.
“There are two ways to address this: one way is to be defensive; the other is to hear the concerns, and act on them professionally, fairly, and completely, in order to maintain the public’s trust in their government,” he said. “…We don’t see criticism from Congress as a bad thing. We welcome Congress as a partner in this effort. When they learn of a problem and start asking questions, that is a good thing. Sunlight truly is the best disinfectant. Truth produces confidence.”
After promising any wrongdoers would be subject to “appropriate action,” Sessions added, “And, while we are open to fair criticism, we will of course defend our investigators and prosecutors from criticism that is unfair.”
