On Wednesday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions flew to California to deliver a speech blasting the state’s Democrats for actively obstructing federal immigration agents from doing their jobs. In the speech, which was accompanied by the announcement that the Department of Justice was filing suit against the state for their “sanctuary” laws that come into direct conflict with federal authority, Sessions called out a number of California officials, including Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf.
Schaaf, as you may recall, went further than any previous member of the “resistance” last weekend when she alerted illegal immigrants in her city that ICE was planning a raid. Her advance warning, according to ICE Director Thomas Homan, may have allowed as many as 800 dangerous criminals escape detention and deportation. Schaaf was utterly unapologetic about her decision to obstruct justice, saying she was within her legal rights to defend Oakland’s sanctuary status.
Sessions disagrees, and he told police officers on Wednesday that California Democrats are going well beyond their legal boundaries when they thwart federal officials from carrying out their work.
“A series of actions and events has occurred that directly and adversely impact the work of our federal officers,” Sessions said. “A refusal to apprehend and deport those, especially the criminal element, effectively rejects all immigration law and creates an open-borders system. Open borders is a radical, irrational idea that cannot be accepted.”
In her actions, Schaaf may have singlehandedly brought the lawsuit upon the state. It’s one thing for local officials to implement sanctuary policies as they have been known up until now. While we disagree with those policies completely, there is a difference between ignoring detainer requests from ICE and sending out an alert to all illegal immigrants: Attention – ICE is coming, ICE is coming, batten down the hatches and hide in your cellars! As Homan said, “What she did is no better than a gang lookout yelling ‘police’ when a police cruiser comes in the neighborhood, except she did it to a whole community.”
Schaaf has accused Sessions of distorting the truth to further his “racist agenda.” No, ma’am. He is enforcing federal jurisdictions and carrying out the law of the land. It is you and your buddies in Sacramento who have decided that California has the right to partially secede from the Union, open your borders, and actively prevent your citizens from cooperating with federal authorities. Yours is the position of traitors. Yours is the position of lawlessness and chaos.
This case will ultimately be decided by the courts. We pray they make the right decision, because it is not an exaggeration to say that the fate of this nation lies in its ability to govern and protect its borders. Once that goes out the window, we’re in serious trouble.
