Goodlatte applauds DOJ’s lawsuit against California’s sanctuary laws

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, on March 7th issued the statement below on the Department of Justice’s lawsuit against California’s sanctuary laws:

“Attorney General Sessions has made the right decision to sue California for its sanctuary laws. Sanctuary laws are designed to hamper federal immigration enforcement and impede the longstanding cooperation that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has enjoyed with state and local law enforcement.  Not only are California’s laws unconstitutional since they violate the federal government’s explicit constitutional authority to write and enforce immigration laws, the laws also needlessly endanger public safety by allowing criminal aliens to roam free in our communities and make it more dangerous for law enforcement officers to apprehend criminal aliens.

“The Department of Justice’s lawsuit is a critical step toward combating dangerous sanctuary laws, and I have long been a proponent of the Department using its authority to sue sanctuary jurisdictions. We must also strengthen federal law to further prevent state and local governments from enacting such reckless policies. The Securing America’s Future Act, which I introduced with Representatives McCaul, Labrador, and McSally, contains new tools to discourage the adoption of sanctuary policies. I continue to work with Members of Congress to see this important bill come up for a vote in the House of Representatives.”