For Immediate Release // Please Excuse Cross Posting // Available Online Here
January 25, 2017
Contact: Armando Carmona, 323-250-3018; armando@ndlon.org;
NDLON Responds to President Trump’s Executive Action on Interior Enforcement: “¡Ni Un Paso Atrás!”
In reaction to the Executive Order on interior enforcement released today by President Donald Trump, NDLON Executive Director Pablo Alvarado issued the following statement:
“President Trump’s executive order today might have been intended to cause fear, but instead it will result in defiance as communities across the country are inspired to support sanctuary policies to protect all residents from the collateral consequences of the Administration’s declaration of war against immigrants and refugees.
“By restoring the thoroughly discredited Se Communities program, Mr. Trump has all but ensured that more states and localities will adopt even stronger sanctuary policies. The truth is that the Obama Administration was forced to abandon SCOMM precisely because of vigorous opposition from state and local officials across the country when it became clear that the program undermined public safety, resulted in grave rights violations, and sought to radically alter the relationship between federal and local law enforcement agencies. The state and local rebellion against criminalizing deportation policies will likely grow in size and intensity. In fact, becoming a sanctuary jurisdiction may now be the only way states and localities can avoid legal liability for participation in Se Communities, which led to gross violations of constitutional rights according to numerous federal court rulings.
“Mr. Trump’s call to triple the number of ICE agents is breathtaking. Expanding a rogue federal police agency to enforce outdated and unjust laws will result in racial profiling, unlawful detention, and other constitutional violations. And his resuscitation of the 287(g) program would replicate on the national level Arizona’s failed experiment in enlisting police as immigration agents.
“The fact that Mr. Trump is trying to take the country backward is consistent with a campaign that was built on retrograde racist platitudes. But he will not have the final word. While some local jurisdictions will accept Trump’s invitation to follow the path of Sheriffs Joe Arpaio and Bull Connor—now infamous for their racism and egregious abuses of authority—today’s executive order will likely inspire the majority of Americans who voted to reject Trump’s racist agenda (including the vast majority of Americans in places where immigrants actually live) to pursue a different path.
For more information see,
Trump can’t force ‘sanctuary cities’ to enforce his deportation plans
Erwin Chemerinsky, Annie Lai and Seth Davis
California Weighs Protections for Immigrants Threatened by Trump Policies
The Editorial Board
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/09/opinion/california-looks-to-lead-the-trump-resistance.html
California considers prohibiting immigration enforcement at public schools and s
Patrick McGreevy
###