The threats and bullying that Donald Trump has successfully used against major law firms, educational institutions and media empires are increasingly falling flat when it comes to mayors of major cities, according to a report Tuesday.
According to a report from the Washington Post, no matter how the president blusters and menaces big city mayors, with a few exceptions, most of them are refusing to look the other way as ICE agents invade their communities and snatch suspected undocumented immigrants off the streets.
As the report notes, officials of sanctuary cities that are being targeted by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem are pushing back with lawsuits and limiting law enforcement from giving the masked invading agents a helping hand.
The Post’s David Nakamura is reporting only two, Louisville and the state of Nevada, of the fourteen jurisdictions the Trump administration has menaced have complied and have dropped restrictions on assisting the federal government with immigrant round-ups.
“Leaders of sanctuary jurisdictions said the lawsuits in Chicago and Portland show Democratic leaders are overwhelmingly deciding to fight back,” the report notes before adding, “San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu was one of the first to launch a concerted effort against the administration’s campaign against sanctuary cities.”
“Nearly three dozen other jurisdictions have since joined the lawsuit, prompting U.S. District Judge William H. Orrick in August to expand his temporary injunction to cover 50 localities,” Nakamura is reporting.
“Though there is no specific definition of a sanctuary jurisdiction, most have policies that prevent local police or sheriffs from asking about the immigration status of people in their custody and restrict their ability to detain inmates at the request of ICE, unless they are presented with a judicial warrant. Scores of cities, counties and states adopted or beefed up sanctuary laws during Trump’s first administration, arguing that assisting in his hard-line approach risked eroding trust between immigrant communities and local law enforcement.”
According to Chiu, the refusal to bend to the demands of the Trump administration has led the White House to seek other methods to gain compliance.
“They are absolutely being more aggressive,” he said. “During the first Trump administration, they did what any party typically does after a ruling, which is respect the ruling. Now, we’ve seen them trying to do everything they can to get around the ruling.”
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