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Trump administration sues California over laws protecting immigrants
[LATimes] The Trump administration, seeking to force a defiant California to cooperate with its agenda of stepped-up immigrant deportations, went to federal court Tuesday to invalidate three state laws ‐ the administration's most direct challenge yet to the state's policies.Administration officials say the three laws in question, all passed by the Legislature last year, blatantly obstruct federal immigration law and thus violate the Constitution's supremacy clause, which gives federal law precedence over state enactments. "The Department of Justice and the Trump administration are going to fight these unjust, unfair, and unconstitutional policies that are imposed on you," Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions plans to tell a meeting of the California Peace Officers Assn. in Sacramento on Wednesday, according to excerpts of his remarks released by the Justice Department. "We are fighting to make your jobs safer and to help you reduce crime in America. And I believe that we are going to win." The laws make it a crime for business owners to voluntarily help federal agents find and detain undocumented workers, prohibit local law enforcement from alerting immigration agents when detainees are released from custody, and create a state inspection program for federal immigration detention centers. Administration officials, who briefed reporters before the suit was filed, said other states that are pursuing laws similar to California's are also likely to be targeted in court. The suit, which administration lawyers filed late Tuesday in federal court in Sacramento, considerably raises the tension between the administration and the most populous state in the country. California officials consistently have sought to stymie Trump's efforts to impose policies incompatible with the more permissive vision of the state's leaders and the liberal leanings of its electorate. In a statement, Gov. Jerry Brown called the federal suit a "stunt." "At a time of unprecedented political turmoil, Jeff Sessions has come to California to further divide and polarize America," he said. "Jeff, these political stunts may be the norm in Washington, but they don't work here. SAD!!!" More at link. Also... Trump DOJ sues California over 'interference' with immigration enforcement Posted by: Abu Uluque 2018-03-07 |
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