Immigration Officials Crack Down in Sanctuary Cities

On Thursday, federal immigration officials announced that they completed hundreds of arrests in cities and states that were not cooperating with federal regulations on immigration.  So called "sanctuary cities," which don't fully abide by federal law to immigration standards, are trying to find ways to ensure these arrests don't occur.

Immigration agents stated that around the Los Angeles area, 167 arrests were made, with other arrests being made in San Francisco and San Jose.  These communities have requested more information about these arrests, and have started to pass laws and implementing policies that restrict what police can and cannot do for ICE agents to immigrants.  Even though these changes are occurring, about 500 people this week were arrested in these cities. In those arrests, more than 300 of those arrested had criminal convictions, according to figures released by ICE. Nearly 90 of those people had been convicted of drunk driving, the most common offense.

President Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions have made their work very clear: to give immigration agents unfettered access to jails and delay releasing immigrants from custody so that agents can nab them. 

Tom Homan, the acting director of ICE, stated in the conference, "Sanctuary jurisdictions that do not honor detainers or allow us access to jails and prisons are shielding criminal aliens from immigration enforcement and creating a magnet for illegal immigration. As a result, ICE is forced to dedicate more resources to conduct at-large arrests in these communities."

OUR VERDICT: This is once again, kicking the can down the road with regards to immigration reform. Although many were criminal aliens, the vagueness of each person, much less the severity of each case, is going to create more questions than answers. Once again, immigration needs to be addressed in a comprehensive manner, so those cities aren't creating more conflict with governmental regulations, but the government isn't intruding into state's rights.