WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. Department of Justice filed a complaint against the State of New York, challenging state policies that blocked immigration officials from arresting individuals at or near New York courthouses.
The complaint challenges a law, called 'the Protect Our Courts Act', that purposefully shields dangerous aliens from being detained at or on their way to or from a courthouse and imposes criminal liability for violations of the shield. This law and accompanying polices violate the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution because they obstruct the execution of federal immigration authorities, the Jusice Department stated in the complaint.
'Lawless sanctuary city policies are the root cause of the violence that Americans have seen in California, and New York State is similarly employing sanctuary city policies to prevent illegal aliens from apprehension,' said Attorney General Pamela Bondi.
New York's law comes after an Executive Order declaring a National Emergency at the Southern Border, which directs the Department of Homeland of Security to issue guidelines for the safe and effective enforcement of immigration laws around the country, specifically at or near courthouses.
'Through these enactments, New York obstructs federal law enforcement and facilitates the evasion of federal law by dangerous criminals, notwithstanding federal agents' statutory mandate to detain and remove illegal aliens,' says the complaint filed by Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate on Thursday.
This is the latest in several lawsuits the Department of Justice has filed challenging state interference with immigration enforcement. In May, the Department sued several New Jersey cities who had enacted sanctuary policies.
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