The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island is urging the state to stand its ground after U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the Justice Department would withhold federal money from “sanctuary cities.”
The statement comes a week after the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement placed Providence and the State Department of Corrections on a list of entities uncooperative with federal immigration.
Head of the ACLU of Rhode Island Steven Brown says most municipalities conform with federal policy, but don’t go beyond what is necessary of them when it comes to immigration enforcement.
Brown says if the Justice Department acted on the threat it would likely lead to lawsuits.
“If the United States through the Attorney General tried to sanction any municipality of Rhode Island or the state itself for allegedly violating federal law, there would be significant grounds for a lawsuit to throw out those sanctions.”
Brown added the ACLU couldn’t find grounds for the Justice Department to act on the sanctions.
