Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove was in Chicago this past weekend to ensure no city officials interfered with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents as they conducted targeted deportations of illegal migrants, CBS News reported on Tuesday.
"This morning, I had the privilege of observing brave men and women of the Department deploying in lockstep with DHS to address a national emergency arising from four years of failed immigration policy. In Chicago, and across the country, FBI, DEA, ATF, USMS, and federal prosecutors are working with DHS to secure the border, stop this invasion, and make America safe again. We will support everyone at the federal, state, and local levels who joins this critical mission to take back our communities. We will use all available tools to address obstruction and other unlawful impediments to our efforts to protect the homeland. Most importantly, we will not rest until the work is done," Bove said in a statement.
Last week, President Donald Trump began implementing his mass deportation of criminal migrants.
According to the New York Post, Bove previously issued a memo ordering federal prosecutors to investigate officials from sanctuary jurisdictions, based on any suspicon of interference with the raids.
The Post said he recently formed an entity known as the Sanctuary Cities Working Group, intended to “work on the ground to collect evidence” of possible violations of federal law by sanctuary cities. At the same time, it'll looking into federal funding for the cities, the report said.
The mayors of Newark, Chicago, Baltimore, Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles, and Miami have all independently come out against the administration's efforts and publicly announced their intentions to support the illegal immigrant communities in their cities.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is one of four mayors being asked to testify about his sanctuary city policies limiting local law enforcement's cooperation with federal immigration enforcement actions.
"Regardless of who is in the White House, Chicago is a city that opens its arms to people from around the globe," Johnson told reporters Tuesday adding, "We will continue to protect civil and human rights, and we welcome all individuals and families who want to work, live, and thrive here in our beloved city."
In 2012, Chicago passed its "Welcoming City Ordinance" which guarantees access to city services regardless of immigration status and preventing undocumented residents from being prosecuted solely because of their immigration status. It also prohibits police from arresting individuals based on immigration status.
Speaking to CNN, border czar Tom Homan gave a tongue-in-cheek response to how well versed in legal minutiae illegal immigrants have become, calling them a "well-educated" illegal migrant population. He said that population has been coached by aid organizations "on how to defy ICE, how to hide from ICE."
"They call it know your rights. I call it how to escape from ICE," said Homan.
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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