Mayor Landrieu's Statement on President Trump's Executive Order on Sanctuary Cities
NEW ORLEANS – Today, Mayor Mitch Landrieu released the following statement on President Trump's Executive Order on Sanctuary Cities:
"First and foremost, the City
does now and will continue to follow federal laws, and we will continue to make
sure that we arrest and convict violent criminals, regardless of their
immigration status. But the NOPD will not be President Trump’s deportation
force.
The City of New Orleans is a
welcoming city, and we will continue to be a place whose racial, ethnic, and
cultural diversity contribute to our growing economy, rich culture, resilience,
and commitment to equity and inclusion.
The NOPD is focused on
arresting those who commit violent crimes, not enforcing civil immigration
laws. We will continue to do the work we are entrusted with by the people of
New Orleans and remain focused on keeping our city and her citizens safe.
This makes us safer because it increases
trust between the community and law enforcement. Those who commit a crime will
be arrested - political theatrics have no bearing on the serious work at hand.
The NOPD’s policy on
immigration complies with federal law. The Department of Justice, the federal
consent decree monitor and the Federal judge overseeing the consent decree have
approved the immigration policy and it has served us well. Going back to
September of 2015, officials at the Department of Homeland Security Immigration
and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were consulted in the drafting of NOPD’s
immigration policy. This agency, which is responsible for enforcing federal
immigration laws, never expressed any concern with the NOPD’s policy.
It’s not just the City who
believes the NOPD policy complies with Federal law. Louisiana Attorney
General Jeff Landry testified to Congress in September that Louisiana “no
longer has any jurisdictions prohibiting them from communicating with Federal
immigration authorities.”
Because of these rigorous reviews of the NOPD’s policy, we do not believe that
President Trump’s executive order will endanger any federal funding and there
will be no change in our policy.
Lastly, the NOPD will not be
coerced into joining Trump’s deportation army via the 287(g) program. Doing so
would require the NOPD to pull officers focused on fighting crime off the
street."
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