Attorney General Pam Bondi sent letters to 33 governors, mayors and county board members across the country attacking their “sanctuary jurisdiction policies” and directing them to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement efforts under threat of prosecution.
“You are hereby notified that your jurisdiction has been identified as one that engages in sanctuary policies and practices that thwart federal immigration enforcement to the detriment of the interests of the United States. This ends now,” Bondi said in the mostly identical letters.
The letters, which are dated yesterday, say Bondi is “committed to identifying state and local laws, policies, and practices that facilitate violations of federal immigration laws or impede lawful federal immigration operations, and taking legal action to challenge such laws, policies, or practices.”
“Individuals operating under the color of law, using their official position to obstruct federal immigration enforcement efforts and facilitating or inducing illegal immigration may be subject to criminal charges,” she wrote, while state and local entities “may also be subject to civil liabilities.”
The letters direct officials in those jurisdictions to respond by Tuesday in a letter “that confirms your commitment to complying with federal law and identifies the immediate initiatives you are taking to eliminate laws, policies, and practices that impede federal immigration enforcement.”
The letters were sent to the governors of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington along with other local jurisdictions.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong issued a statement today saying there “is nothing in our laws or statutes that says Connecticut is a ‘sanctuary’ state,” and he “is prepared to pursue all legal rights and remedies to defend our sovereignty and the people and families of Connecticut from federal overreach.”
Bondi has already filed numerous civil suits over states’ sanctuary policies. A suit against Illinois was dismissed last month.