AG Barr Announces DOJ Will File Multiple Lawsuits Against State and Local Governments For Enacting “Sanctuary City” Policies

BARR: "... Let us state the reality upfront and as clearly as possible," Barr began. "When we are talking about sanctuary cities, we are talking about policies that are designed to allow criminal aliens to escape. These policies are not about people who came to our country illegally but have otherwise been peaceful and productive members of society. Their express purpose is to shelter aliens whom local law enforcement has already arrested for other crimes. This is neither lawful nor sensible."

Barr said the DOJ would be filing multiple lawsuits against state and local governments for enacting “sanctuary city” policies. 

“The department is filing a complaint against the state of New Jersey seeking declaratory and injunctive relief against its laws that forbid state and local law enforcement from sharing vital information about criminal aliens with [the DHS],” Barr said. 

A separate lawsuit would be targeting King County, Washington over a dangerous policy “that forbids DHS from deporting aliens from the United States using King County International Airport,” Barr said. 

“Further, we are reviewing the practices, policies, and laws of other jurisdictions across the country. This includes assessing whether jurisdictions are complying with our criminal laws, in particular the criminal statute that prohibits the harboring or shielding of aliens in the United States,” Barr added. 

Barr also said the DOJ is currently conducting reviews of DA’s who have enacted policies that charge “foreign nationals with lesser offenses for the express purpose of avoiding the federal immigration consequences of those nationals’ criminal conduct.”