America First Legal, a nonprofit with ties to President-elect Donald Trump, has sent letters cautioning sanctuary city mayors across the U.S. about the perils of violating federal immigration laws.
Among those who received a letter included Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell, San Diego County Supervisor Nora Vargas and California Attorney General Rob Bonta, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday.
The group's president, Stephen Miller, was a senior adviser in Trump's first administration and has been tapped to be Trump's deputy chief of staff for policy in the next administration.
"Federal law is clear: Aliens unlawfully present in the United States are subject to removal from the country, and it is a crime to conceal, harbor, or shield them. It is also a crime to prevent federal officials from enforcing immigration law," the letter, dated Dec. 23 and signed by America First Legal senior counsel James Rogers, began.
"Federal law imposes serious consequences for obstructing the execution of federal immigration law. So-called 'sanctuary' jurisdictions that forbid compliance with federal immigration law and cooperation with the officials who enforce it are, therefore, breaking the law. Moreover, sanctuary jurisdictions are strictly prohibited from requiring their employees to violate federal immigration law."
The warning comes in light of several elected Democrat officials developing plans to thwart Trump's mass deportation efforts. In November, Govs. J.B. Pritzker of Illinois and Jared Polis of Colorado launched their Governors Safeguarding Democracy as a way of fighting Trump's plans for mass deportations of illegal immigrants. Democrat Denver Mayor Mike Johnston threatened a "Tiananmen Square moment" by utilizing tens of thousands of residents to prevent Trump from enforcing his plan.
"The fact of the matter is that you and the other officials who support or enforce sanctuary laws, policies, and regulations have a very personal stake in the matter — you each could face criminal prosecution and civil liability for your illegal acts," the letter warned.
The letter ended with a quote from President Theodore Roosevelt: "Obedience to the law is demanded as a right; not asked as a favor."
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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