Justice Dept manipulated major U.S. city to become 'sanctuary'
Unlawfuld safe haven for illegals gets cover from feds
Published: 11 hours ago
Louisiana lawmakers are considering a bill that would ban sanctuary cities in their state, but they learned recently that the state’s largest city, New Orleans, may have been forced, or at least encouraged, to become a safe haven for criminal illegal aliens.
And the entity pushing the city to ignore federal immigration laws was the federal government itself.
In 2010, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, a Democrat, asked President Obama’s Justice Department, under then-Attorney General Eric Holder, to conduct an investigation into alleged corruption and discrimination within the city’s police department. The city entered into a court-approved consent decree with the feds in 2012 requiring sweeping reforms of the New Orleans Police Department.
The city’s police department now operates essentially under federal supervision.
Among the agreed reforms were new policies governing the way police officers treat suspects and witnesses who appear to be recent immigrants. They are not allowed to ask about their immigration status.
Since 2012, New Orleans has become a notorious sanctuary city, refusing to turn over criminal aliens to the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. It is one of more than 300 such sanctuaries in the U.S.
image:
http://www.wnd.com/files/2016/04/Edu-Varela-1.jpgEdu Varela Lopez
Edu Varela Lopez
Edu Varela-Lopez, a 26-year-old Honduran man and illegal immigrant, fled North Carolina, where he was suspected in the shooting death of a man found lying on an exit off Interstate 85 in Durham, the Times Picayune reported. He was arrested in New Orleans Aug. 11, 2015, where he was working on a construction site.
Illegal Guatemalan immigrant Pedro Alberto Monterroso was captured and then released by Border Patrol agents in Texas. He traveled to a New Orleans suburb in 2014 and bludgeoned his girlfriend to death in her apartment before fleeing to the Houston area with three of his children, the New York Daily News reported.
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http://www.wnd.com/files/2016/04/pedro-2.jpgPedro
Pedro Alberto Monterroso
Another illegal, Hermes Rivera, was arrested near New Orleans in April 2015 and charged with raping the 10-year-old daughter of his girlfriend multiple times, WGNO reported.
So the legislature decided to act.
Last Thursday, the state House advanced House Bill 151 out of committee. The bill, authored by Rep. Valarie Hodges, R-Denham Springs, would require all cities in Louisiana to comply with federal immigration laws or lose their ability to get bond financing for building projects.
But passage of the bill could potentially set up a conflict with the U.S. Justice Department, which has been, at the very least, encouraging New Orleans to violate its own federal immigration laws.
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http://www.wnd.com/files/2016/04/jeff-landry.jpgLouisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry
Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry
State Attorney General Jeff Landry is trying to get clarification from U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch on exactly what the federal government is requiring in the way of dealings will illegals in New Orleans and whether the consent decree with the city is in conflict with the state’s proposed new law.
Landry sent a letter to Lynch dated April 27 that asks several questions, seeking a response within 15 days. First among the questions is this: Did the U.S. Department of Justice require New Orleans to adopt sanctuary policies and, if so, how could the DOJ “authorize such a defilement of federal law.”
Read Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry’s letter to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch.
Landry said at last week’s hearing he cannot believe there is a conflict, because that would mean the federal government was encouraging a city through a court-ordered decree to violate federal law. And the House attorneys advised lawmakers that if there was a conflict, the consent decree would not be enforceable.
‘No doubt’ the two are in conflict
State Rep. Joseph Lopinto, R-Metaire, said there is little doubt that the two documents – the state’s proposed new law and the federal consent decree governing the New Orleans Police Department – are in conflict.
“Have you looked at the consent agreement? I mean, look, I’m not opposed to the bill, but let’s be honest, it does conflict with the consent agreement. I mean it is what it is,” Lopinto said. “It says they shall not question victims or witnesses of a crime regarding their immigration status.”
Rep. Chad Brown, D-Plaquemine, agreed.
“I read the consent decree over and over several times yesterday, and I do echo Rep. Lapinto that it just seems like it does conflict with what we’re trying to do here, and that’s just my opinion,” Brown said.
Hodges objected to an amendment to her bill that she said would “take all the teeth out of it.” She said there is a convicted killer right now sitting in a New Orleans jail cell who fled California and was arrested on a charge of aggravated battery in New Orleans, which has refused to turn him over to ICE.
Watch Rep. Valarie Hodges’ impassioned speech against sanctuary cities:
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