CrimePolitics

Rahm files lawsuit, DOJ fires back: ‘Sanctuary’ v. public safety

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is suing the Justice Department over threats to withhold funding because of the city’s “sanctuary” policies. (Source: Screen capture YouTube, Brookings)

It didn’t take the Justice Department long to respond to anti-gun Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s threats to sue the DOJ over a Trump administration threat to withhold federal grant money from so-called “sanctuary cities,” among which Chicago is prominent.

Emanuel filed the lawsuit Monday, Fox News is reporting.

According to Fox News, DOJ spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores told the Chicago Tribune, “In 2016, more Chicagoans were murdered than in New York City and Los Angeles combined. So it’s especially tragic that the mayor is less concerned with that staggering figure than he is spending time and taxpayer money protecting criminal aliens and putting Chicago’s law enforcement at greater risk.”

Last year, 788 people were murdered in the Windy City. So far this year, there have been more than 400 homicides, according to the Chicago Tribune. This includes three people slain over the weekend, including a 14-year-old boy. Twenty-eight others were wounded. CBS News reported that more than 2,100 people have been shot this year in the city.

Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?

At issue apparently is $3.2 million, what the newspaper said was a “tiny fraction” of the city’s budget. The money will reportedly be used to buy police vehicles.

If it is such a small amount of money, why is Emanuel threatening to sue? Is this another part of a Democrat “resistance” effort to keep the Trump administration too busy to press its agenda? Is this a scheme to deflect public attention away from Chicago’s inability to deal with gang violence?

Or is it, as Emanuel has stated, a preventive measure to keep the Justice Department from penalizing “sanctuary cities” for failure to comply with federal immigration laws?

Sanctuary cities do not cooperate with immigration authorities, which amounts to a city picking and choosing which laws it will enforce. If a city does not cooperate with federal immigration authorities, why should the city expect its citizens to comply with restrictive gun laws?

At the same time, Chicago makes it as difficult as possible for law-abiding citizens to exercise their right to keep and bear arms, and to legally carry sidearms for personal protection under Illinois state law. That law was passed only after separate lawsuits by the Second Amendment Foundation and National Rifle Association forced state lawmakers to adopt a concealed carry mechanism.

“Chicago will not let our police officers become political pawns in a debate,” Emanuel said over the weekend. “Chicago will not let our residents have their fundamental rights isolated and violated. And Chicago will never relinquish our status as a welcoming city.”

But the city will try to restrict and discourage its residents from exercising their Second Amendment rights.

Related Articles

Our Privacy Policy has been updated to support the latest regulations.Click to learn more.×