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A Tale Of Two Cities: Sessions To Praise Miami, Rip Chicago Over Immigration Policies
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Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Wednesday praised Miami-Dade County as a model for local cooperation on immigration enforcement, while blasting Chicago for its continued defiance of the Trump administration’s immigration agenda.
In a speech at the Port of Miami on Wednesday afternoon, Sessions will draw a sharp distinction between Miami-Dade, which earlier this year reversed its “sanctuary city” policy, and Chicago, which last week sued the administration for attaching new immigration detention requirements to federal law enforcement grants.
“Miami-Dade is an example of what is possible through hard work and a rededication to the rule of law,” Sessions plans to say, according to speeching excerpts provided to reporters. “It is proof that the entire nation can do better.”
As for Chicago, Sessions says the city’s immigration policies are “just one sad example” of local politicians protecting lawbreakers at the expense of public safety.
“Respect for the rule of law has broken down [in Chicago],” he says.
The Miami-Dade county commission voted in February to drop its sanctuary status and boost cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. Jail officials had previously honored ICE immigration detention requests only in cases where criminal aliens had been arrested for violent crimes. The revised policy expanded cooperation to all ICE detainers, regardless of the underlying criminal offense.
Miami-Dade officials defended the move, which angered many in the heavily Hispanic and immigrant county, as a necessary measure to guarantee continued access to federal community policing grants. In an Aug. 4 letter to Mayor Carlos Gimenez, the Department of Justice said “there was no evidence” Miami-Dade was out of compliance with an immigration-related conditions on a $480,000 grant due to the county this year.
Chicago, on the other hand, has staked out a position as one of the nation’s most unapologetic sanctuary cities. Mayor Rahm Emanuel has repeatedly criticized the Trump administration’s tough approach to immigration enforcement and vowed to maintain Chicago’s longtime sanctuary city status.
On Aug. 7, the city asked a federal judge to prevent DOJ from enforcing new immigration guidelines attached to the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program.
During his remarks in Miami, Sessions will tie Chicago’s sanctuary policies to its soaring murder rate, which has reached levels not seen for 20 years. In contrast, Miami-Dade’s willingness to assist immigration officials has made the county much safer, he argues.
“I know that Miami-Dade will be an example of the good that comes from following the law,” Sessions says. “We have already seen that: the same Independence Day weekend when Chicago suffered more than 100 shootings and 15 homicides, Miami-Dade also had a historic number of shooting deaths — zero.”
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