Louisiana lawmakers' efforts to end sanctuary cities in their state ran into a surprising road block during a recent legislative hearing.
They learned in testimony, first reported April 28 by WND, that the U.S. Justice Department under Eric Holder had pressured the city of New Orleans Police Department to adopt certain sanctuary policies contained in a January 2013 consent decree.
Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry sought clarification on exactly what the current leader of the DOJ, Loretta Lynch, believes is required of the city, but his office told WND Thursday he has yet to get any response to his April 27 letter to Lynch.
Now some members of Congress are calling for an investigation into the federal government's role in creating a sanctuary city in New Orleans.
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As WND first reported, it was revealed during an April 21 State House hearing that the U.S. DOJ vetted and "enthusiastically" approved a new immigration policy for the New Orleans Police Department. That new policy, inserted into the court-approved consent decree, required officers not to question suspects about their immigration status.
In the latest move, Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., chair of the House Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., chair of the House subcommittee on immigration and border security, have written Lynch, upping the pressure on her to respond to questions and calling for a full investigation.
It is "outrageous that DOJ would seek a consent decree to actually inhibit the ability of the federal government to enforce federal law," the two congressmen wrote to Lynch in the letter dated May 18.
"By hindering the ability of ICE to apprehend criminal aliens, DOJ consciously disregards the safety and security of the American public by enabling the release of these criminals back into our communities to commit more crimes," the letter continues. "It also places ICE agents and officers at greater risk when they are forced to arrest these criminal aliens who are no longer in a secure jail facility, but in public places where they can more readily escape or access a weapon."
Read the entire Goodlatte-Gowdy letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch.
Read Louisiana AG Jeff Landry's April 27 letter to Loretta Lynch.Â
According to Gowdy and Goodlatte, the New Orleans Police Department adopted new rules of engagement on Feb. 28, 2016, that were approved by the Obama administration and explicitly called on police to "not engage in, assist, or support immigration enforcement except as follows: (a) In response to an articulated, direct threat to life or public safety; or (b) When such services are required to safely execute a criminal warrant or court order issued by a federal or state judge."
Changes to the operations manual also instructed officers that the police department "shall not make inquiries into an individual's immigration status, except as authorized by this Chapter."
The manual further states that officers "are not permitted to accept requests by ICE or other agencies to support or assist in immigration enforcement operations. ... In the even a member receives a request to support or assist in a civil immigration enforcement action, he or she shall report the request to his or her supervisor, who shall decline the request and document the declination in an interoffice memorandum to the Superintendent through the chain of command."
The Obama administration started digging its heels into the New Orleans Police Department at the invitation of Mayor Mitch Landrieu back in 2010.
Landrieu, a Democrat, asked Obama’s Justice Department, under then-Attorney General Holder, to conduct an investigation into alleged corruption and discrimination within the city’s police department. The city entered into a court-approved consent decree with the feds on Jan. 11, 2013, requiring sweeping reforms of the police department.
The city’s police now operate essentially under federal supervision.
Among the reforms were new policies governing the way police officers treat suspects and witnesses who appear to be recent immigrants. They are not allowed to ask about their immigration status, one of the hallmarks of a sanctuary city.
See larger, interactive map showing more than 300 sanctuary cities across the U.S.
Since the consent decree went into effect, New Orleans has become a notorious sanctuary city, refusing to turn over criminal aliens to the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. It is one of more than 300 such sanctuaries in the U.S.
Louisiana's House Bill 1148 would cut off access to bond financing by sanctuary cities. The bill recently passed the state House floor with a bipartisan vote of 69-26, including nine Democrats and two independents.
It is pending in the state Senate.
Discussion on HB 1148 has begun in the state Senate Judiciary committee this week, but was deferred due to time constraints. It is expected to be taken back up next Tuesday.
"Sanctuary city policies endanger the safety of the Louisiana people," Landry said. "As Louisiana Attorney General, I am committed to ensuring that these dangerous policies are rejected. I have confidence in our law enforcement officers and believe they should be trusted to do their job without the fear of unlawful action by the federal government."