Rep. Jayapal Vows to Resist Trump Administration’s Attack on Sanctuary Cities

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal released the following statement in response to the Trump administration’s threat to withhold Department of Justice grants from jurisdictions that welcome immigrants, including King and Snohomish counties, as well as Seattle and Burien in Washington’s 7th District:

“The Trump administration’s latest attack on sanctuary cities is nothing more than political posturing based on alternative facts. The vast majority of these cities follow the law cited by the Attorney General to justify his crackdown. The idea that more welcoming policies make these cities less safe is absolutely ridiculous. The government’s own data shows that the crime rate is lower in sanctuary jurisdictions than their non-sanctuary counterparts.

“The president and his administration must face the reality that our immigration system is broken. I stand ready and willing to work with anyone to enact comprehensive immigration reform – a long overdue set of fixes for our disjointed policies.

“In the meantime, our cities will not be bullied into making their own neighborhoods less safe by compromising the trust local police have built with immigrant communities. This is a nonsensical policy based on xenophobic falsehoods.

“President Trump should stop his attempts to divide us, to pit us against our neighbors and to tear up the fabric of our communities. We must double down on resisting.”

While there is no clear definition of sanctuary cities, these jurisdictions recognize that we are best able to maintain public safety when local law enforcement disentangles itself from enforcing federal immigration laws. Major sanctuary cities include Seattle, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York City.

 

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Issues: Immigration