State and local officials obstructing mass deportations are facing increasing pressure from President Donald Trump’s newly empowered Department of Justice. With the DOJ now working as an independent judicial agency rather than as a politicized tool to go after opponents, Trump is targeting state and local officials nationwide who, according to authorities, are using obstructive tactics to shield illegal immigrants and prevent their arrests.
On Tuesday, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, Trump’s longtime criminal defense lawyer, issued a memo to DOJ staff detailing the department’s plan to prosecute individuals obstructing deportation efforts. The memo announced the formation of a “Sanctuary Cities Enforcement Working Group” within the DOJ’s Civil Division, tasked with identifying local laws or statutes that conflict with federal immigration initiatives and challenging those policies in court.
Bove, the top political appointee at the Department of Justice, has informed subordinates that the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution mandates state and local authorities to comply with the administration’s immigration policies. According to Bloomberg, Bove warned that individuals who refuse to comply could face prosecution under a federal statute prohibiting “defrauding or committing offenses against the US, which carries a prison sentence of up to five years.”
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lacks the manpower to deport millions as promised by President Trump, making cooperation with local authorities essential, Bove emphasized. “The Justice Department’s responsibility” includes “aggressive enforcement of laws enacted by Congress, as well as vigorous defense of the President’s actions on behalf of the United States against legal challenges,” Bove wrote. “The Department’s personnel must come together in the offices that taxpayers have funded to do this vitally important work.”
The memorandum marks the opening salvo in a battle that has been years in the making. A central pillar of President Trump’s successful campaign was his pledge to carry out “the largest mass deportation in American history,” a promise that 55% of Americans support, according to a recent New York Times poll.
The primary battlegrounds will be sanctuary cities and states, which, while not defined by a specific set of laws, share policies that restrict local authorities from cooperating with federal immigration officials in the arrest and deportation of illegal immigrants.
President Trump has previously warned of withholding federal aid from cities and states that refuse to comply with his immigration policies. However, Bove’s memo signals that the administration will utilize existing laws and statutes to target state and local officials who seek to thwart legitimate efforts to locate and deport people in the country illegally.
