Late Tuesday night, the Trump Administration escalated its war of words over California’s immigration agenda as the United States Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the state of California, its governor and its attorney general over “sanctuary” laws it alleges violate the Constitution and are friendly to undocumented immigrants.
The federal government filed its case just after 9 p.m. EST in the state capital of Sacramento. The suit will considerably raise the tension between the administration and the most populous state in the country. In a statement, California Gov. Jerry Brown called the federal suit a “stunt.”
“At a time of unprecedented political turmoil, Jeff Sessions has come to California to further divide and polarize America,” Brown said. “Jeff, these political stunts may be the norm in Washington, but they don’t work here. SAD!!!”
The lawsuit, which names the State of California, Gov. Brown and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, challenges three recently passed state laws that the Trump administration says hinder enforcement of federal immigration law and endanger federal agents.
“The Department of Justice and the Trump administration are going to fight these unjust, unfair, and unconstitutional policies that are imposed on you,” Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions plans to tell a meeting of the California Peace Officers Assn. in Sacramento on Wednesday, according to excerpts of his remarks released by the Justice Department. “We are fighting to make your jobs safer and to help you reduce crime in America. And I believe that we are going to win.”
