FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: April 14, 2017

MEDIA CONTACT: Spencer Critchley
CONTACT TITLE: Acting PIO
EMAIL: [email protected] 
PHONE: (831) 998-3000
Statement by City Attorney Chris Callihan About Today's Oral Arguments on a Preliminary Injunction Against President Trump's Sanctuary Cities Executive Order

Salinas, CA -- Salinas City Attorney Chris Callihan today issued the following statement:

In United States District Court in San Francisco today, Hon. William H. Orrick, III will hear oral arguments regarding a nationwide injunction of the enforcement of Section 9 of President Trump's Executive Order 13,768 relating to sanctuary jurisdictions. Section 9 of the Executive Order purports to give the U.S. Attorney General and the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security the power to deem a state, county, or local government a sanctuary jurisdiction and to deprive it of receiving federal funds. Injunction of the Executive Order is sought on the grounds that it violates the 10th Amendment, is unconstitutionally vague, and attempts to co-opt for President Trump the power of the purse, which is expressly reserved for Congress in the U.S. Constitution. The Court is expected to issue an order on the preliminary injunction motions in the next week or two.

The City of Salinas has joined with 50 other cities and counties as amicus curia (friends of the court) in support of the motion for preliminary injunction. Salinas has worked closely with these other jurisdictions to show the court that Salinas, like many other similarly situated jurisdictions, stands to lose substantial federal funding. For the 2015-2016 fiscal year, the City of Salinas received $45,262,576 in federal grant funding to fund programs related to housing and urban development, transportation, fire response, emergency medical response, and public safety. Federal grants help fund community development programs, home investment partnerships, emergency shelters, highways, roads, traffic enforcement, public transportation, emergency fire and medical response, and law enforcement, including programs to assist women and children who are victims of violence. All of these programs are placed in jeopardy by the Executive Order.

There is some confusion as to whether the City of Salinas is a sanctuary jurisdiction, and that confusion is warranted. Neither federal law nor the Executive Order defines the term "sanctuary jurisdiction." Rather, the Trump administration has left the term undefined in order to allow it to choose, indiscriminately, which jurisdictions to deprive of federal funding. According to the Executive Order, any jurisdiction that does not allow its law enforcement departments to be entirely coopted into the enforcement of federal immigration law can be added to the administration's list of b�tes noires at any time. The administration's failure to define the term sanctuary jurisdiction is one of the factors that renders the Executive Order unconstitutional.

The City of Salinas and its departments, including the Police Department, will not take any action to enforce federal civil immigration violations. The Police Department will investigate federal criminal immigration violations, such as harboring, smuggling, or terrorism, but will not take any action to investigate or inquire as to any civil immigration violation, such as entering or remaining in the U.S. absent immigration status. It is the goal of the City of Salinas and its Police Department to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of the residents of Salinas without regard for the citizenship or immigration status of the City's residents or their families. The City's policies toward immigration enforcement are specifically tailored to encourage Salinas residents to communicate and cooperate with law enforcement without fear of immigration consequences. It is an open question as to whether these policies of inclusion make Salinas a sanctuary city for the purposes of the Executive Order.

There is confusion in the community with regard to what it means to be a sanctuary jurisdiction. States, cities, and counties cannot prevent the federal government from enforcing federal immigration law within their borders. The federal government, through the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customer Enforcement (ICE), has the power to enforce federal immigration law anywhere within the United States. No state, local, or county law can abrogate that right or prevent ICE from taking enforcement actions. What sanctuary jurisdictions can do, like the City of Salinas, is refuse to use their police resources for the enforcement of immigration law. The only sanctuary that Salinas, or any other state, local, or county government, can offer immigrants without status is freedom from local law enforcement's inquiry into civil immigration matters. Salinas offers that sanctuary to its residents. But the question remains as to whether offering that sanctuary makes Salinas a sanctuary jurisdiction.

Please direct any questions regarding the Sanctuary City litigation to Christopher A. Callihan, City Attorney, 831-758-7256.

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City of Salinas
200 Lincoln Ave.
Salinas, CA 93901
www.cityofsalinas.org
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