Trump's sanctuary bullying
Feb 5, 2017
President Donald Trump's executive order threatening to withhold federal funds from "sanctuary" states and cities hangs over Monday's scheduled vote on a Howard County measure designed to reassure its immigrant community, and it puts him on a collision course with Mayor Catherine Pugh and other local leaders whose jurisdictions have long trumpeted such policies. We urge the leaders of Maryland's cities and counties that have enacted policies that maintain a clear separation between federal enforcement of immigration laws and local law enforcement not to back down.
That Mr. Trump would take this step isn't surprising, given the belligerent, bullying attitude toward immigrants that was so evident during his campaign. But now that Mr. Trump has been elected president, he may be forced to recognize that the law in this case is not on his side — indeed, he may have seriously underestimated the problems he has brought upon himself by threatening to punish localities for not doing the feds' bidding on immigration.
First and foremost, the kinds of policies Baltimore follows, and Howard County is considering codifying, foster public safety. When immigrants fear that interacting with local police could lead to deportation for them or their loved ones, they are less likely to report crimes or serve as witnesses. That puts the entire community at risk by leaving dangerous criminals on the streets.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opi...205-story.html
