WASHINGTON, DC – The Department of Justice filed suit against the city of Boston earlier in September, as well as the city’s mayor and police commissioner, alleging that sanctuary policies and local ordinances obstruct the federal government’s interests and actions in enforcing immigration law.
In a lawsuit filed on September 4th, the Justice Department accused the city of Boston, Mayor Michelle Wu, and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox of violating the Supremacy Clause as well as federal law pertaining to information sharing between state/local law enforcement and immigration authorities.
According to the lawsuit filed by the Justice Department, the federal government claims that the Boston Trust Act, which expressly prohibits local law enforcement from sharing information with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) regarding a suspect’s identity or immigration status, violates both the Constitution and federal law.
With respect to the alleged constitutional issues with the Boston Trust Act, the Justice Department points to Article VI, Paragraph 2 of the U.S. Constitution, which is commonly referred to as the Supremacy Clause. What the aforementioned clause spells out is that the federal government is the supreme law of the land, and state and local governments that craft laws in conflict with existing federal legislation are in violation of said clause.
“The Supremacy Clause prohibits the City of Boston and its officials from obstructing the Federal Government’s ability to enforce laws that Congress has enacted or to take actions entrusted to it by the Constitution and from singling out the Federal Government for adverse treatment, thereby discriminating against the Federal Government. The Boston Trust Act runs afoul of these constitutional principles and should be enjoined,” the lawsuit reads.
Furthermore, the lawsuit also accuses the defendants of unlawful discrimination by the federal government via the Doctrine of Intergovernmental Immunity, which has its roots all the way back to the 1819 Supreme Court case of McCulloch v. Maryland. In the doctrine’s modern application, states cannot enact laws that hinder federal government operations or engage in any sort of discrimination against the federal government in order to further a state’s own interests or benefits.
“The challenged provisions single out federal immigration officials, expressly and implicitly, for unfavorable and uncooperative treatment when other law enforcement officials are not so treated,” the lawsuit reads, further adding, “Accordingly, the Boston Trust Act violates the Doctrine of Intergovernmental Immunity and alternatively is invalid on that basis.”
Outside of the Supremacy Clause and its various judicial interpretations, the Justice Department points directly to 8 U.S. Code § 1373, alleging that the city of Boston, its mayor, and police commissioner are violating federal law, which pertains to communication protocols between local governments and federal immigration authorities.
According to the federal law, which was passed during the Clinton administration back in 1996, 8 U.S. Code § 1373(b)(1) clearly states, “Notwithstanding any other provision of Federal, State, or local law, no person or agency may prohibit, or in any way restrict, a Federal, State, or local government entity from… Sending such information to, or requesting or receiving such information from, the Immigration and Naturalization Service.”
Mayor Wu has already shared a statement claiming the lawsuit filed against her and the city is an “unconstitutional attack,” but has yet to articulate exactly what the constitutional issue at hand is, while it would seem that the only parties at odds with the Constitution are the defendants in the case.
In a lawsuit filed on September 4th, the Justice Department accused the city of Boston, Mayor Michelle Wu, and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox of violating the Supremacy Clause as well as federal law pertaining to information sharing between state/local law enforcement and immigration authorities.
According to the lawsuit filed by the Justice Department, the federal government claims that the Boston Trust Act, which expressly prohibits local law enforcement from sharing information with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) regarding a suspect’s identity or immigration status, violates both the Constitution and federal law.
With respect to the alleged constitutional issues with the Boston Trust Act, the Justice Department points to Article VI, Paragraph 2 of the U.S. Constitution, which is commonly referred to as the Supremacy Clause. What the aforementioned clause spells out is that the federal government is the supreme law of the land, and state and local governments that craft laws in conflict with existing federal legislation are in violation of said clause.
“The Supremacy Clause prohibits the City of Boston and its officials from obstructing the Federal Government’s ability to enforce laws that Congress has enacted or to take actions entrusted to it by the Constitution and from singling out the Federal Government for adverse treatment, thereby discriminating against the Federal Government. The Boston Trust Act runs afoul of these constitutional principles and should be enjoined,” the lawsuit reads.
Furthermore, the lawsuit also accuses the defendants of unlawful discrimination by the federal government via the Doctrine of Intergovernmental Immunity, which has its roots all the way back to the 1819 Supreme Court case of McCulloch v. Maryland. In the doctrine’s modern application, states cannot enact laws that hinder federal government operations or engage in any sort of discrimination against the federal government in order to further a state’s own interests or benefits.
“The challenged provisions single out federal immigration officials, expressly and implicitly, for unfavorable and uncooperative treatment when other law enforcement officials are not so treated,” the lawsuit reads, further adding, “Accordingly, the Boston Trust Act violates the Doctrine of Intergovernmental Immunity and alternatively is invalid on that basis.”
Outside of the Supremacy Clause and its various judicial interpretations, the Justice Department points directly to 8 U.S. Code § 1373, alleging that the city of Boston, its mayor, and police commissioner are violating federal law, which pertains to communication protocols between local governments and federal immigration authorities.
According to the federal law, which was passed during the Clinton administration back in 1996, 8 U.S. Code § 1373(b)(1) clearly states, “Notwithstanding any other provision of Federal, State, or local law, no person or agency may prohibit, or in any way restrict, a Federal, State, or local government entity from… Sending such information to, or requesting or receiving such information from, the Immigration and Naturalization Service.”
Mayor Wu has already shared a statement claiming the lawsuit filed against her and the city is an “unconstitutional attack,” but has yet to articulate exactly what the constitutional issue at hand is, while it would seem that the only parties at odds with the Constitution are the defendants in the case.
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