ACLU Response To "Sanctuary City" Legislation

On behalf of the 45 undersigned organizations, we strongly urge Congress to pass a Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2016 appropriations bill free of immigration policy riders.

A U.S. Senate bill seeking to defund over 350 localities that have adopted community trust policies and refused to execute unconstitutional immigration detainers has failed to advance to a full Senate vote. The “Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act” (S.2146) was blocked by a 54-45 cloture vote. The American Civil Liberties Union is a leader in a broad coalition of law enforcement, municipal, community development, housing, victim services, religious, and immigrants’ rights organizations that opposed the bill.

The American Civil Liberties Union strongly urges senators to oppose the “Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act” (S. 2146). A cloture vote on the motion to proceed is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, October 20, 2015 at 2:15 p.m. The ACLU urges you to vote NO on the cloture vote on the motion to proceed, and, if a vote is scheduled for final passage of the bill, to vote NO on S. 2146. The ACLU will score this vote.

The American Civil Liberties Union strongly urges you to oppose the “Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act” (S. 2146). A cloture vote on the motion to proceed is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, October 20, 2015 at 2:15 p.m. The ACLU urges you to vote NO on the cloture vote on the motion to proceed, and, if a vote is scheduled for final passage of the bill, to vote NO on S. 2146. The ACLU will score this vote.

We, the undersigned 35 criminal justice reform, civil and human rights, and faith-basedorganizations, write to express our strong opposition to current proposals before the Senate and House that would create a new five-year mandatory minimum sentence for illegal reentry.

This letter from the ACLU of Iowa, sent to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on September 3, 2015, expresses opposition to the substitute amendment offered by Sen. Grassley and Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) to the “Stop Sanctuary Cities Act” (S. 1814).

This sign-on letter, sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee on September 1, 2015, urges Senators to oppose the Grassley/Vitter substitute amendment to the “Stop Sanctuary Cities Act” (S. 1814). 103 national, state, and local organizations signed on.

Summary: The plaintiffs in this proposed class action seek relief against ICE for violations of the 4th Amendment and the 5th Amendment Due Process Clause, seeking to stop ICE’s practice of issuing detainers “without first determining that there is probable cause to believe the subject is removable.”The named plaintiffs are Gerardo Gonzalez and Simon Chinivizyan, both U.S. citizens against whom ICE issued detainers.

This is a compilation of statements on media outlets by sheriffs and mayors on the illegality of DHS immigration detainer requests and need for judicial Warrants.

On behalf of the 139 undersigned national, state, and local organizations, we write to express our strong opposition to the “Stop Sanctuary Cities Act” (S. 1814), introduced by Senators Vitter, Flake, and McCain. If enacted into law, S. 1814 would mandate that all state and local law enforcement agencies (“LEAs’”) comply with all Homeland Security (“DHS”) immigration detainer requests, regardless of the constitutionality or validity of the detainers. At the same time S. 1814 would do nothing to solve the constitutional defects with DHS detainer requests that have led multiple federal courts to hold localities financially liable for violating the Constitution when they detain individuals on that basis. As a result, S. 1814 forces local LEAs into a Catch-22 position: either violate the Constitution and incur liability for unlawfully detaining individuals, or lose federal funding for following the Constitution and honoring community trust.

(August 2, 2015) Removed video.

It’s not every day that the Fraternal Order of Police, Major County Sheriffs’ Association, Conference on Mayors, and National League of Cities line up with the ACLU on the same side of legislation.

But that will be the case today when the House votes on H.R. 3009, the “Enforce the Law for Sanctuary Cities Act.” Civil liberties groups and immigration activists have joined with law enforcement, religious organizations, cities, and mayors to oppose this bill.

This statement was submitted to the Immigration and Border Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee for its hearing on July 23, 2015 on “Sanctuary Cities: A Threat to Public Safety.” In the statement, the ACLU urges Members to refrain from imposing immigration policy that would penalize local law enforcement agencies for longstanding policies that limit local officials’ entanglement in federal immigration enforcement.

It’s not every day that the Fraternal Order of Police, Major County Sheriffs’ Association, Conference on Mayors, and National League of Cities line up with the ACLU on the same side of legislation.

But that will be the case today when the House votes on H.R. 3009, the “Enforce the Law for Sanctuary Cities Act.” Civil liberties groups and immigration activists have joined with law enforcement, religious organizations, cities, and mayors to oppose this bill.

This sign-on letter, sent on July 22, 2015 to the House of Representatives, urges Members to oppose H.R. 3009, the Enforce the Law for Sanctuary Cities Act, which was introduced by Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA). The letter was signed by 144 national, state, and local advocacy organizations.

This sign-on letter, sent on July 20, 2015 to Members of Congress, expresses strong opposition to any legislation that would seek to undermine state and local law enforcement’s efforts to build and restore community trust.

Hector Villagra speaks against removing constitutional rights in the wake of the shooting death of Kathryn Steinle by the alleged shooter Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez.