Sanctuary Cities? Not In Mississippi

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The Mississippi state Senate passed an “anti-sanctuary cities” bill and sent it to the desk of Gov. Phil Bryant by a margin of 36-11 Tuesday.

Senate Bill 2710 prohibits state agencies, departments, counties, colleges, and employees thereof from “creating, planning, implementing, assisting, participating in, or enabling a sanctuary policy.” This bill, which invalidates any “sanctuary policy” seeking to shield illegal immigrants from the enforcement of federal immigration laws, says that the above institutions cannot prohibit their employees from checking a person’s immigration status.

“No government entity — whether at city hall or a university campus — can grant amnesty to illegal aliens and violate federal laws.”

“This state law banning sanctuary cities is a major step forward for law and order in Mississippi,” Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves said, according to The Clarion-Ledger. “I appreciate the work of Sen. [Sean] Tindell to ensure our local governments and educational institutions follow federal immigration laws. No government entity — whether at city hall or a university campus — can grant amnesty to illegal aliens and violate federal laws.”

Although there are no explicit sanctuary cities in Mississippi, proponents of the measure note there have been individual instances where local authorities have refused to comply with immigration enforcement agents.

“We’ve had instances of cities attempting to ignore federal law or have law enforcement not check immigration status,” said one of the bill’s authors, Senate Judiciary Chairman Tindell (R-Gulfport) Tuesday, according to The Clarion-Ledger.

Mississippi Lawmakers Pass Sanctuary City Ban

 

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Granny says, "Dat's right - sue dey's socks off...

ICE Director Supports Allowing Victims of Criminal Aliens to Sue Sanctuary City Officials
June 28, 2017 | Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Tom Homan said Wednesday that he would support allowing victims of criminal aliens to sue the city officials of sanctuary cities.

CNSNews.com asked Homan if he would support allowing victims of criminal aliens in sanctuary cities to sue the city officials. "For those who make the decisions to release those alien citizens to the street, yes," Homan said during an off-camera briefing at the White House.

Homan and U.S. Attorney from Utah John Huber were at the White House Wednesday to take part in a roundtable discussion about immigration with the president and other stakeholders, as well as families of victims who wee killed by illegals. "ICE’s new Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement, otherwise known as the VOICE Office, is working with families like the ones we’ll be sitting with today to assist them in the aftermath of crimes that could have been prevented," Homan said. "More than 400 calls from victims have been referred to our community relations officers and victim specialists for assistance with accessing resources, getting more information about a specific case, and how the immigration process works," he said. "Sanctuary jurisdictions pose a threat to the American public by refusing to work with ICE and allowing egregious criminal offenders back into the community to put the lives of the public at risk. Not to mention the fact, it also puts my law enforcement officers at risk because they have to go back on the street to arrest somebody they could have arrested in a county jail," Homan added. Congress is set to vote Thursday on two bills aimed at cracking down in illegal immigration: Kate's Law (H.R. 3004) and the No Sanctuary for Criminals Act (H.R. 3003).

Both bills "would penalize criminal illegal aliens who break our laws and the jurisdictions that attempt to shield them from justice," Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement Wednesday. Kate's law, named after Kate Steinle, who was killed by an illegal alien who was deported five times before gunning her down, amends Section 276 of the Immigration and Nationality Act to increase the penalties against illegal aliens who repeatedly return to the U.S. illegally. "Any alien who has been denied admission, excluded, deported, or removed, or who has departed the United States while an order of exclusion, deportation, or removal is outstanding, and subsequently enters, attempts to enter, crosses the border to, attempts to cross the border to, or is at any time found in the United States, shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both," the bill states.

Notwithstanding that, if an illegal immigrant was convicted before such removal or departure for three or more misdemeanors or for a felony, he faces a fine and/or "not more than 10 years." Also, "for a felony for which the alien was sentenced" to "not less than 30 months" in prison, he will be fined and/or imprisoned for "not more than 15 years." The sentence increases to "not more than 20 years" for a felony where the illegal immigrant is sentenced to "not less than 60 months." Murder, rape, kidnapping, a felony offense like peonage or debt servitude, slavery, and terrorism, or three or more felonies of any kind carry a sentence of "not more than 25 years."

The No Sanctuary for Criminals Act "would ensure that American taxpayers are not subsidizing States and localities that work to affirmatively thwart Federal law enforcement efforts," the White House said in a statement. "For States or localities determined to be in violation of Federal law, H.R. 3003 would restrict their eligibility to receive certain Department of Justice or Department of Homeland Security grants. Instead, under this bill, those grant funds would be reallocated to States and localities that comply with Federal law," the White House said. "Additionally, this bill would provide for more robust detention of criminal aliens. The Administration is committed to strengthening enforcement of our Nation’s immigration laws in order to improve national security and public safety. This legislation is critical to these efforts," it added.

ICE Director Supports Allowing Victims of Criminal Aliens to Sue Sanctuary City Officials

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ICE Director: ‘We Do Not Conduct Sweeps’ Or ‘Raids’
June 29, 2017 - During Wednesday’s White House press briefing, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Tom Homan, said that ICE does not conduct sweeps, raids, or roadblocks to remove people who have illegally immigrated into the U.S.

“ICE conducts targeted enforcement operations in compliance with federal law and regulation,” said Homan. “We do not conduct sweeps, raids, roadblocks -- this is important to know. This is a targeted enforcement operation, which means we look for a specific person at a specific location based on intelligence and criminal investigative work. They’re not raids. They’re not sweeps.” Homan also made it clear that ICE would be prioritizing illegal immigrants who “are a threat to national security and public safety.” “Again, ICE prioritizes those that are a threat to national security and public safety,” said Homan, “but prioritization doesn’t mean others that violated our laws are off the table and should be ignored.”

Homan concluded that while ICE was prioritizing those illegal immigrants who are more of a threat to the country, all who enter illegally break the law. “ICE is ordered to faithfully execute the nation’s immigration laws. Through a sustained commitment to enforcement, illegal immigration will come down and has come down,” Homan continued. “When people ask us not to arrest those who are not serious criminals I say this: Those who enter our country illegally violated our country’s laws. It’s a crime to enter this country illegally -- 8 U.S.C. 1325, illegal entry into the United States.” Homan, along with Attorney General of Utah John Huber, spoke at length about new legislation they support, namely “Kate’s Law” and the “No Sanctuary for Criminals Act.”

According to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, both laws if passed “would penalize criminal illegal aliens who break our laws and the jurisdiction that attempt to shield them from justice.” Kate’s Law, named for Kate Steinle, who was murdered by an illegal immigrant, would increase mandatory minimum sentences for criminal aliens. The No Sanctuary for Criminals Act would make states and localities in violation of immigration law ineligible for certain grants from the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security. “So this pending legislation -- Kate’s Law on one hand and the No Sanctuary for Criminals Act on the other hand -- advance the ball for law enforcement in keeping our communities safe,” said Huber. “The laws, if passed, would give officers and prosecutors more tools to protect the public. Stiffer penalties for reentry offenders make sense. It just does.”

Huber concluded: “We don’t gamble with our public safety. Criminal aliens don’t need encouragement to reside in our beautiful cities. Criminal aliens warrant handcuffs and removal. Law enforcement professionals are very good at what they do, and we should not impede them from their excellent work in keeping us safe.”

ICE Director: ‘We Do Not Conduct Sweeps’ Or ‘Raids’