Sanctuary cities refuse to cooperate with lawful Federal immigration enforcement efforts, endangering both communities and law enforcement.

The term “sanctuary cities” generally refers to jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate with lawful Federal immigration enforcement efforts, often by rejecting immigration “detainer” requests from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

When local law enforcement arrests an illegal alien on criminal charges, ICE issues a detainer, which is a request that the local authority notify ICE before releasing the alien and maintain custody for a short time so that ICE may take custody for removal purposes.

Sanctuary jurisdictions, including many big cities, refuse to comply with ICE’s detainer requests.

(Trump calls Oakland mayor’s ICE warning a ‘disgrace’; reaction and analysis on ‘The Five.’ Courtesy of ‘The Five’, Fox News and YouTube. Posted on Mar 8, 2018)

Sanctuary city policies cause dangerous criminal aliens to be released into our communities, putting innocent lives are put at risk.

Sanctuary cities are preventing Federal authorities from locating and arresting dangerous criminal aliens and removing them from our country.

Sanctuary policies in California have allowed the release of numerous criminal aliens charged with serious crimes who could continue to harm communities.

For example:

• An alleged gang member was arrested by the San Francisco Police Department more than ten times between 2013 and 2017 for charges including rape, domestic battery, and assault.
  • Each time, San Francisco denied ICE’s request that the individual be transferred to ICE custody or that ICE be notified before release.
• In February 2018, ICE arrested an illegal alien who had been convicted last year of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14, but sentenced to only 180 days in jail.
• In another case, Sonoma County, California alerted ICE only 24 minutes before releasing an illegal alien charged with inflicting corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant.
  • As a result, ICE was not able to arrest the alien, who was arrested again a few weeks later as a suspect in the murder of his alleged girlfriend.

When sanctuary city officials refuse to honor ICE detainer requests, they are putting the public and law enforcement officers at risk.

If ICE cannot arrest illegal or criminal aliens in the controlled environments of police stations or jails, it must perform its lawful immigration enforcement duties in workplaces, in residences, or in the streets.

Even worse, when sanctuary city officials warn illegal aliens about possible upcoming immigration enforcement activities, they allow criminals to prepare themselves, endangering innocent bystanders and putting law enforcement at greater risk.

Original post https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/need-know-sanctuary-cities/

(President Donald Trump views prototypes for his long-promised border wall. US Customs and Border Protection picked eight proposals for construction along the San Diego border, which have been tested in a real-world environment. Courtesy of CBS News and YouTube. Posted on Mar 13, 2018)

President Donald J. Trump traveled from Washington to Southern California on Tuesday, where he examined eight prototypes for the proposed border wall with Mexico.

The samples range in height from 18 to 30 feet.

“While Congress considers funding for fiscal year 2018, other wall program activities are moving forward,” Paul Koscak of U.S. Customs and Border Protection writes.

Those activities include planning and design, as well as upgrades along less fortified or outdated parts of the southwest barrier.

Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen M. Nielsen, Acting Chief of the Border Patrol Carla Provost, and Deputy Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Tom Homan following President Donald J. Trump’s operational briefing at the border wall prototypes in San Diego, California:

“The border wall is only one of the tools we need to secure the border – the wall system also involves mission-ready agents, patrol roads, sensor technology, and support resources,” said Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen. ”

“But importantly it also includes the ability to promptly remove illegal aliens, terrorists and criminals, closing often exploited loopholes in our immigration system.”

“After speaking with our frontline operators at the border today, their message underscores the urgency for Congress to take action and find legislative solutions to secure our border and make America safe.”

“I want to thank President Trump for his steadfast support for the men and women of DHS and what they need to execute their mission.”

“At CBP, we are committed to keeping America safe by securing our borders, and that includes enhancing our border wall system,” said Acting Chief of the Border Patrol, Carla Provost.

“In our experience, walls work.”

“With the right combination of a wall, technology, infrastructure and agents, we have been successful in denying and impeding illegal border crossers.”

“Unfortunately, infrastructure alone will not deter migrants from taking a dangerous path towards illegally entering our country.”

“Current loopholes in our immigration laws pertaining to family units and unaccompanied minors have created a path to entering America illegally.”

“Without legislative changes to these loopholes, we will continue to see a rush to the border by young migrants, and adults with children.”

“The dangerous journey to attempt to enter our country illegally is no place for children and without closing these loopholes, more and more people will be put in harm’s way.”

“ICE has made significant progress in enforcing immigration law and removing criminal aliens and public safety threats from local communities,” said Deputy Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Tom Homan.

 “That includes increasing arrests by 43 percent, increasing interior removals by 30 percent, and achieving the highest number of MS-13 arrests by the agency since 2008.”

 “However, until Congress addresses the underlying causes of illegal immigration, we can’t reach a lasting solution to this problem.”

 “We need to address misguided policies and loopholes that serve as pull factors for illegal aliens, we need to stop dangerous sanctuary city policies, and we need a border wall, without which ICE’s work only grows in difficulty and danger.”

The President’s visit comes as more and more Americans express support for his four-pronged approach to immigration reform.

In addition to the majorities that support tougher border security and a permanent resolution for DACA, more than 8 in 10 voters want a system that selects individuals based on their education and skills—not one that chooses immigrants based on whether they have relatives already in the United States.

(President Trump Reviews Border Wall Prototypes. Courtesy of the White House and YouTube. Posted on Mar 13, 2018)

New Poll Shows Overwhelming Support for President Trump’s Immigration Priorities

More than 8 in 10 voters want a system of immigration that selects individuals based on their education and skills rather than our current system that selects immigrants based on whether they have relatives already in the United States.

Voters Support President Trump’s Approach to DACA

• 63% of voters favor “a congressional deal that gives undocumented immigrants brought here by their parents work permits and a path to citizenship in exchange for increasing merit preference over preference for relatives, eliminating the diversity visa lottery, and funding barrier security on the U.S.-Mexico border.”
  • This includes 61% of Hispanics, 55% of African American voters, and 63% of Democrats.
• A majority (53%) of voters think Democrats in Congress are not out “to find a legislative solution for DACA recipients” and are instead “holding it out as an issue for the midterm elections.”
  • This includes 61 percent of Independents, as well as nearly 1 in 5 Democratic voters who think Democratic lawmakers do not want “to find a solution for DACA,” but instead want to use them as an issue in the midterm elections.

Voters Support Ending Chain Migration

• 84% of voters “think immigration priority for those coming to the United States should be based on a person’s ability to contribute to America as measured by their education and skills”—not “based on a person having relatives in the U.S.”
  • This includes 83% of Hispanics, 88% of Independents, and 77% of Clinton voters.
• 60% of voters said “children who were brought into this country illegally by their parents… should not be given preference for [their parents and] relatives to move to this country.”
  • This includes 62% of women and 66% of Independents.
• 60% of voters think DACA recipients “should not be able to bring in their parents [into the country with them if they are given a pathway to citizenship] as this only encourages bringing in more undocumented people to the U.S.”

Voters Support Canceling the Visa Lottery

• 70% of voters oppose the visa “lottery that randomly picks 50,000 people to enter the U.S. each year for great diversity.”
  • This includes 58% of Hispanics, 56% of African Americans, 61% of Clinton voters, and 59% of Democrats.

Voters Want To Secure Our Borders

• 62% of voters believe current border security is inadequate.
  • This includes 55% of Hispanics and 64% of Independents.
• 57% of voters support “building a combination of physical and electronic barriers across the U.S.-Mexico border.”
  • This includes 53% of Hispanics and 54% of Independents.
• A clear majority of voters (61%) believe Congress should pass legislation that addresses both DACA and border security at the same time.
  • This includes 69% of Hispanics, 55% of African Americans, 54% of Democrats, and 63% of Independents.

Voters Support Immigration Control

• 79% of voters think we need secure borders—not open borders. This includes 72% of Hispanic voters, 71% of African American voters, 80% of Independent voters, and 71% of Clinton voters.
• Among Republican voters, respondents said that “reducing the total amount of immigrants allowed in the United States” should be “the top priority for President Trump and Republicans in Congress” second only to “stimulating American jobs.”
• Among all voters, “reducing the total amount of immigrants allowed in the United States” was ranked to be a top five issue, rating in equal importance to destroying ISIS.

“This survey was conducted online within the United States from February 16-19, 2018, among 1,934 registered voters by The Harris Poll.”

Original post https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/new-poll-shows-overwhelming-support-president-trumps-immigration-priorities/