Harsh words for Mr. Jeff Sessions, the United States Attorney General, were offered from a Philadelphia Latinx immigrant organization.
An outspoken detractor of the Trump Administration, Ms. Erika Almiron, who serves as the Executive Director of Juntos, a South Philadelphia-based immigrant-rights nonprofit, suggested that Mr. Session, who as of today is being sued by the City of Philadelphia for adding what they believe are “unlawful conditions” germane to immigration to a grant program, is complicit in promoting lawlessness.
Mr. Sessions in July announced additional requirements to the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program, which has gifted Philadelphia for over a decade, enabling the City to afford police overtime, law enforcement training and upgrades to courtroom technology. Those new requirements mandate that Philadelphia give immigration agents two days’ notice before releasing undocumented immigrants from custody, and allow I.C.E access to any detention facility to ask detained immigrants about their legal status.
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, a Democrat, since his first day in office has stood firm in his commitment to keep his jurisdiction as a sanctuary city, which means local law enforcement officials won’t cooperate with immigration agents. American Mayor’s who’ve taken this stance are a source of sour for the President and his administration, which was elected, in part, due to their perceived anti-immigrant disposition.
Juntos, Ms. Almiron’s employer, in a statement released today likened Mr. Session’s antics to that of “gangster exhortation tactics.”
“Sessions has no power in requiring cities to be at his racist beck and call in order to receive federal funding,” a portion of the statement read.
The City of Philadelphia in its suit contends Mr. Sessions has overstepped his authority by changing the program in a way that Congress, which established the grant that’s administered by the Attorney General, never intended for it.
Mr. Sozi Tulante, the City Solicitor, seeks a court to intervene and to recognize that “the Attorney General lacks the authority to impose any of these conditions.”
Mayor Kenney, who has implied that U.S. President Donald J. Trump is a bully, characterized the grant conditions as “unprecedent” and “purely political.” He further added:
“The Trump administration claims that it is imposing these to keep Philadelphians safer, but the facts don’t lie. Philadelphia isn’t breaking federal law. We’re doing smart policing and, as a result, we had the lowest level of crime in 2016 that we’ve had in 40 years. We will not let this Administration interfere with our longstanding efforts to bring members of Philadelphia’s immigrant community from the shadows.”
The City’s lawsuit, which Ms. Almiron has commended, asks a federal judge to determine that it is unlawful for the Department of Justice to impose the three new conditions on Byrne Memorial JAG funding; prohibit the DOJ from doing so; and determine that, if the imposition of Section 1373 in connection with the grant funding is found to be lawful, that the City has properly certified that it does, in fact, comply with the statute.
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