Trump administration sues New York over sanctuary city policies

NBC News reports that the Trump administration filed a lawsuit against New York City yesterday challenging its “sanctuary” laws, continuing an effort to crack down on states and cities that attempt to shield undocumented immigrants from federal immigration enforcement efforts.

The administration alleged New York’s sanctuary city policies “impede the Federal Government’s ability to enforce the federal immigration laws” and “violate the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution.”

The U.S. Department of Justice press release, which includes the complaint in the lawsuit, states that “[a]s detailed in the complaint, New York’s sanctuary policies have allowed dangerous criminals to roam the streets and commit heinous crimes within the community. These policies reflect an intentional effort to obstruct federal law enforcement and thus are preempted under the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.”  It further notes that:

“The case, filed in the Eastern District of New York, is the latest action from the Justice Department fighting back against unlawful obstruction of enforcement of federal immigration laws. In the past three months, the Department has filed lawsuits against Los Angeles, New York State, Colorado, Illinois, the city of Rochester, New York, and several New Jersey cities to invalidate unconstitutional sanctuary policies. Recently, the Mayor of Louisville revoked the city’s sanctuary policy after the Justice Department threatened legal action.”

KJ