By Democratic heavyweights and progressive Squad members maintain a deafening silence as the White House calls for heightened collaboration between local law enforcement in sanctuary cities and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
In remarks to Fox News Digital last week, a White House spokesperson expressed openness to “local law enforcement’s support and cooperation in apprehending and removing individuals who pose a risk to national security or public safety.”
“When a local jurisdiction possesses information about an individual posing a threat to public safety, we urge them to share that intel with ICE,” the spokesperson emphasized.
This stance seemingly places the Biden administration at odds with many Democrats and immigrant rights advocates who advocate for maintaining sanctuary policies, which often restrict or prohibit local law enforcement from collaborating with ICE.
The statement also suggests a shift in President Biden’s position, as during his presidential campaign, he opposed local police cooperation with ICE. Additionally, in the early days of his presidency, the administration rolled back a Trump-era Justice Department grant policy incentivizing local law enforcement cooperation with federal authorities while withholding millions in funding from sanctuary cities.
Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, as well as Senators Elizabeth Warren, Dick Durbin, John Fetterman, and Alex Padilla, but received no response, despite their representation of states with significant sanctuary cities. Similarly, inquiries to the offices of Squad members, including Representatives Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Cori Bush, Ayanna Pressley, and Jamaal Bowman, yielded no reply.
The White House’s position coincides with a surge in controversy surrounding sanctuary cities, fueled by several high-profile crimes allegedly committed by illegal immigrants, such as the recent case of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student from Georgia, whose death led to the arrest of 26-year-old Venezuelan citizen Jose Antonio Ibarra, an illegal entrant charged with felony murder, false imprisonment, and kidnapping.
This surge in crime has prompted New York City Mayor Eric Adams to question the efficacy of the city’s sanctuary policies, stating that they may compromise public safety. This marks a notable departure from Adams’ campaign promises to uphold New York City’s sanctuary status.
While the White House and Mayor Adams advocate for greater collaboration with ICE, their positions face criticism from migrant rights groups like the New York Civil Liberties Union, which condemns any shift away from sanctuary policies as “shameful” and likely to result in the “cruel targeting, demonization, and demoralization of our immigrant neighbors.”
