{"id":39014,"date":"2025-01-24T13:25:23","date_gmt":"2025-01-24T21:25:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=39014"},"modified":"2025-01-24T13:25:23","modified_gmt":"2025-01-24T21:25:23","slug":"trump-doj-memo-calls-for-probe-of-sanctuary-cities-like-sf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2025\/01\/24\/trump-doj-memo-calls-for-probe-of-sanctuary-cities-like-sf\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump DOJ memo calls for probe of sanctuary cities like SF"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfexaminer.com\/users\/profile\/Adam%20Shanks\">By Adam Shanks | Examiner staff writer |<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Jan 22, 2025\u00a0Updated\u00a0Jan 23, 2025 (SFExaminer.com)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com\/sfexaminer.com\/content\/tncms\/assets\/v3\/editorial\/f\/f7\/ff7cf3dc-d910-11ef-a627-8f74f88f2330\/6791727fb3ffc.image.jpg?resize=400%2C300\" alt=\"Sanctuary Cities Police Grant\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">In this April 14, 2017, file photo, protesters hold up signs outside a courthouse in San Francisco.Haven Daley\/Associated Press, file<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Two days into President Donald Trump\u2019s administration, San Francisco\u2019s hackles were raised again Wednesday by a new Department of Justice memo that targets cities that refuse to team up with federal immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/documents\/2f9af176-72c5-458a-adc4-91327aa80d11.pdf?itid=lk_inline_manual_4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The memo<\/a>, written Tuesday by acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove and published a day later in a number of media outlets, calls for investigation and prosecution of local officials who do not comply with \u201clawful immigration-related commands and requests from federal authorities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It was issued in response to Trump\u2019s arrival in office this week and the suite of executive orders he swiftly signed to implement his vision. While its broader implications remain to be seen, the memo \u2014 and Trump\u2019s promised crackdown on immigration \u2014 could have major consequences for San Francisco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>San Francisco has been a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sf.gov\/information--sanctuary-city-ordinance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201csanctuary city\u201d<\/a>&nbsp;since 1989, and its laws prevent local officials from collaborating with federal authorities to facilitate deportations. Support for the sanctuary city ordinance was reiterated by the Board of Supervisors in a resolution that passed last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu\u2019s office told The Examiner that it is in compliance with federal law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe purpose of San Francisco\u2019s sanctuary laws is not to interfere with lawful federal immigration enforcement,\u201d said Jen Kwart, a spokesperson for Chiu\u2019s office. \u201cImmigration enforcement is the federal government\u2019s job, not the responsibility of state or local governments.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a CNN interview on Wednesday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta described the memo&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/americas\/trump-administration-criminally-probe-officials-who-resist-immigration-actions-2025-01-22\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">as a &#8220;scare tactic.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;We are very well aware of what the law requires us to do and what it permits us to do,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We know that we don&#8217;t have to participate in immigration-enforcement activities.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The memo also calls for the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2025\/01\/22\/donald-trump-justice-department-immigration-005783\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">FBI\u2019s Joint Terrorism Task Force<\/a>&nbsp;\u201cto assist in the execution of President Trump\u2019s immigration-related initiatives.\u201d As noted by Politico, the Joint Terrorism Task Force includes members of local enforcement, who would potentially be forced to choose between following federal orders or their cities\u2019 own sanctuary laws. However, San Francisco&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/national-security\/san-francisco-police-department-pulls-out-of-fbi-anti-terrorism-task-force\/2017\/03\/10\/62e05bcc-fd09-11e6-8f41-ea6ed597e4ca_story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">left the task force<\/a>&nbsp;in 2017 during Trump\u2019s first term and has not rejoined it, despite recent calls by the police officers union to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>San Francisco officials, and leaders in other sanctuary cities, have long argued that such policies improve public safety, largely by encouraging those who would otherwise fear deportation to collaborate and cooperate with police.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfexaminer.com\/news\/politics\/dorsey-alone-continues-fight-to-change-s-f-sanctuary-law\/article_66255f08-cf44-11ed-886b-278e42ee301a.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">San Francisco\u2019s law<\/a>&nbsp;includes exceptions for people accused or convicted of serious or violent crime like rape and assault with a deadly weapon.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/law.stanford.edu\/press\/sanctuary-policies-protect-immigrants-but-dont-threaten-public-safety-new-stanford-research\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">A 2020 Stanford University study<\/a>, for example, found that sanctuary policies reduced deportations but had no measurable effect on crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During his campaign,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/campaign\/4892401-trump-proposes-sanctuary-cities-legislation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Trump promised to look<\/a>&nbsp;to Congress to \u201cpass a law outlawing sanctuary cities nationwide, and we demand the full weight of the federal government on any jurisdiction that refuses to cooperate with [Immigration and Customs Enforcement].\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The battle with Trump over immigration policy is one that San Francisco officials have anticipated and fought before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2017, Trump attempted to pull federal funding from cities that fail to comply with federal demands related to immigration enforcement. The City, and California, responded with a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfcityattorney.org\/2021\/03\/04\/final-victory-for-san-francisco-in-sanctuary-city-case-against-trump-administration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">lawsuit that they eventually won.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>San Francisco is already back in court during Trump\u2019s second administration. On Tuesday, Chiu signed on with nearly two dozen states and Washington, D.C. in an effort to halt Trump\u2019s efforts to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfexaminer.com\/news\/politics\/why-sf-joined-donald-trump-birthright-citizenship-lawsuit\/article_228db596-d83a-11ef-9dd4-cbe1c70a5b02.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">revoke birthright citizenship<\/a>&nbsp;\u2014 which is enshrined in the 14th Amendment of the Constitution \u2014 via executive order.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two days into President Donald Trump\u2019s administration, San Francisco\u2019s hackles were raised again Wednesday by a new Department of Justice memo that targets cities that refuse to team up with federal immigration enforcement. The memo, written Tuesday by acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove and published a day later in&#8230; <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2025\/01\/24\/trump-doj-memo-calls-for-probe-of-sanctuary-cities-like-sf\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39014"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39014"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39014\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39018,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39014\/revisions\/39018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}