Immigration Reform Advocate: U.S. Officials Breaking Law by Creating Illegal Alien Sanctuary Policies
by Chad Groening
April 5, 2005
(AgapePress) - A Washington, DC-based immigration think tank says the number of city officials and other municipal authorities that are intentionally ignoring the illegal immigration crisis are on the increase, despite a federal law that prohibits government entities from aiding and abetting illegal aliens.The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) has found that an increasing number of cities have instituted sanctuary policies that prohibit civil servants, including police, from cooperating with U.S. immigration authorities. CIS spokesman John Keeley says that is a violation of a federal law -- specifically a 1996 statute stating "that no government official on any level can aid and abet illegal immigration. That is the law."
Keeley believes these proliferating sanctuary policies can be traced, in part, to a high-profile former city government executive -- "Mayor Rudy Giuliani, back in the 90s in New York." The immigration expert says the former mayor "came out very brazenly and said no one in New York City is going to assist the federal government with the enforcement of immigration law."
According to the CIS spokesman, Giuliani emboldened other city officials to openly flaunt their opposition to the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. "And this is conspicuous at a time when, for the last couple of years, the United States government has been explicit in notifying all Americans and especially all government officials of the need to be ever vigilant about people in our communities who aren't sanctioned to be here," he points out.
Nevertheless, Keeley says the number of municipalities and localities that seem to be turning a blind eye to the crisis of illegal immigration in the United States is rapidly rising. He suggests that the local government officials contributing to this trend are not only creating a national security hazard, but breaking the law as well.
Chad Groening, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
