As the public outcry against sanctuary cities grows louder, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announced today that he is leading a coalition of 11 state attorneys general in the fight to finally put an end to sanctuary cities. In contrast, Tennessee’s Attorney General Herbert Slatery III, the state’s chief legal advisor, is not on board, so the Volunteer State is not named among the states in the coalition.
Announced in a tweet, the coalition has filed a brief urging a federal appeals court to overturn a lower court ruling and enforce President Trump’s anti-sanctuary cities executive order. These 11 states (West Virginia, Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kansas, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas) insist that sanctuary cities “undermine the President’s immigration enforcement authority, an area where the Constitution gives him and Congress considerable power.”
W.Va. AG, Louisiana Lead 11 States in Fight Against Sanctuary Cities https://t.co/oDVO57PTBw
— WV Attorney General (@WestVirginiaAG) December 27, 2017
Attorney General Morrisey also issued this statement: “Sanctuary cities are a matter of public safety. Law enforcement officials can better protect citizens if they are capable of complying with federal immigration laws rather than having their authority limited by the establishment of sanctuary cities.”
The announcement also reveals the costs of immigration for everyday Americans:
Sanctuary jurisdictions — cities and localities that prohibit or otherwise obstruct cooperation between federal and local officials on immigration enforcement — defy the rule of law and deprive law enforcement of the tools necessary for effective civil and criminal enforcement.
Jurisdictions such as those, especially in states bordering West Virginia, could have a detrimental effect on West Virginia and her citizens. For example, Eastern Panhandle officials have noted an influx of drugs from Baltimore, which has adopted sanctuary policies.
Upholding federal immigration laws, in these instances, will provide law enforcement in West Virginia and other states with additional and necessary tools to identify drug offenders who enter the country unlawfully.
The Tennessee Star has previously covered Tennessee’s Attorney General Herbert Slatery III’s weak record on illegal immigration, specifically his failure to challenge the DACA program:
Using his official letterhead, Slatery informed Sens. Alexander and Corker that Tennessee would not challenge the DACA program despite admitting the likelihood of prevailing. Slatery’s legal opinion is that the program “suffers from the same constitutional infirmities” as the Obama DAPA amnesty program which was stopped when twenty-six states including Tennessee, filed suit in federal court.
Sounding more like a constituent instead of a state’s attorney general, Slatery urged Alexander and Corker to support the “DREAM Act of 2017” which would offer amnesty and a path to citizenship for other groups of illegal aliens in addition to the DACA eligible.
Slatery’s failure to act on DACA is out-of-touch with Tennessee Republicans.
In a recent Tennessee Star Poll, 54 percent of likely Republican primary voters said that “those who came into this country illegally as children” should not be granted amnesty and given a path to citizenship, while only 25 percent said they should be granted amnesty.
(See Question 17 on page 4 of the poll below.)
[pdf-embedder url=”https://tennesseestar.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/171219-Triton-Dec-2017-TN-Star-GOP-Primary-Survey-Topline-Results.pdf” title=”171219 Triton – Dec 2017 TN Star GOP Primary Survey – Topline Results”]
The Star has also reported on Slatery’s meeting with a pro-illegal, Soros-funded organization:
After meeting with Teatro, Slatery reneged on his commitment to the coalition of Attorneys General challenging DACA. Even though there was no statutory or Constitutional authority for Obama’s unilateral action on DACA, or the fact that DACA does not alter anyone’s illegal immigration status, Slatery chose instead, to join TIRRC’s push for passage of the “DREAM Act of 2017” which would grant amnesty and a path to citizenship for the DACA eligible.
Sanctuary cities have been in the news recently, as The Star reported:
A San Francisco jury found Jose Ines Garcia Zarate – a seven-time felon and an illegal alien who had been deported five times – not guilty of murdering Kate Steinle on a pier on July 1, 2015.
Instead, on Thursday, the jury of six men and six women convicted Zarate, a 45-year-old Mexican citizen, of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The jury included “three immigrants,” according to USA Today.
Across the country, Americans are rejecting sanctuary cities. A staggering 80 percent of Americans do not support sanctuary cities, according to a survey from Harvard–Harris Poll, as reported by The Hill:
80 percent of voters say local authorities should have to comply with the law by reporting to federal agents the illegal immigrants they come into contact with.
Laraza Boyd gave $275,000 grant to the Muslim group in Nashville and supported sanctuary cities until he caught so much flack on his web ad and then denied he did it ! The question is was it taxpayers money or his. ABB – anybody but Boyd .Tn didn’t want 4 more years of Obama so they rejected Clinton, why would anyone want 4 more years of Haslam , that’s what you would get with Boyd . Bruce
Every where Illegals and Immigrants have settled crime has gone up, and it’s no wonder, listen to them talk about how they hate America and everything it represents.
You would think they would be happy to be living in this country, but they bring the same mentality to this country that destroyed or kept their home countries from prospering.
America is not just a “Physical place”, it’s a “Frame of mind” of it’s citizens.
Republicans voting as they promised when they were running for election would guarantee this issue is DOA. However, I know of two elected Republicans with constituencies in East Tennessee who will vote for in state tuition for ILLEGAL ALIENS. And one can only surmise both are DACA amnesty supporters. You will not see either of them releasing press statements detailing their intentions. Why? Are they ashamed? Where are the town hall meetings such as those conducted by Representative Duncan and County Mayor Tim Burchett in past years as they try to help their constituency understand the finer details of the issues they must legislate? To answer questions and formulate solutions to the problems that their voting (American Citizens) constituencies face. Those meetings allowed for a certain transparency in the governing process. And accountability. I am so disillusioned with our state level governance in Tennessee, in particular. These elected officials sell their very souls for $$$$. President Donald Trump is laying waste to the Republican party. I am glad. MAGA!
Speaking of voting, when will we demand to be given the right enjoyed by citizens of a vast majority of states to elect our Attorney General?
The so-called leaders of Tennessee want to give Tennessee salaries away to illegals. This shows their priorities favoring the illegals over native Tennesseans. These traitors should be voted out of office!.