Sanctuary communities keep neighborhoods safe by ensuring that local police are not entangled in federal immigration enforcement. These communities are being destabilized and harmed by the Trump Administration. In statements made today, Attorney General Jeff Sessions escalated the anti-immigrant rhetoric warning sanctuary communities that the government will “claw back” federal funds already provided to them if they do not fall in line with the Trump Administration’s misplaced and discriminatory immigration policies.
Fortunately, the U.S. Constitution does not allow the federal government to force our communities to do its bidding. That is why we were the first civil rights organization in the country to sue the Trump Administration on behalf of sanctuary communities. In Massachusetts, we represent the cities of Chelsea and Lawrence in a federal lawsuit designed to stop this federal overreach that tramples on local autonomy, harms immigrant families and children, and makes our communities less safe.
As the Lawyers’ Committee has consistently done, we will turn to the courts to enforce the civil rights protections that strengthen our diverse communities.
Learn more about our sanctuary cities work on Ian Master’s “Full Disclosure,” Boston Metro, Eagle-Tribune, WGBH, and NPR‘s “The Takeaway.”