Berkeley Targeted By Justice Department Over Immigration

BERKELEY, CA — The City of Berkeley is one of 23 jurisdictions nationwide to be targeted by the US Department of Justice in a crackdown on cities, counties and states that are not complying with federal immigration policy.

On Wednesday, the DOJ sent a letter to Berkeley, a sanctuary city, demanding documents that could show whether the City is unlawfully restricting information sharing by the Berkeley Police Department with federal immigration authorities. In the letter, the DOJ said that if Berkeley fails to respond completely or in a timely manner, the City could be subpoenaed by the Justice Department.

The DOJ said they had previously contacted all 23 jurisdictions, nine of which are in California. "I continue to urge all jurisdictions under review to reconsider policies that place the safety of their communities and their residents at risk," Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a press release. "Protecting criminal aliens from federal immigration authorities defies common sense and undermines the rule of law. We have seen too many examples of the threat to public safety represented by jurisdictions that actively thwart the federal government's immigration enforcement—enough is enough."

The jurisdictions that received the letters are listed below:

• Chicago, Illinois
• Cook County, Illinois
• New York City, New York
• State of California
• Albany, New York
• Berkeley, California;
• Bernalillo County, New Mexico
• Burlington, Vermont
• City and County of Denver, Colorado
• Fremont, California
• Jackson, Mississippi
• King County, Washington
• Lawrence, Massachusetts
• City of Los Angeles, California
• Louisville Metro, Kentucky
• Monterey County, California
• Sacramento County, California
• City and County of San Francisco, California
• Sonoma County, California
• Watsonville, California
• West Palm Beach, Florida
• State of Illinois
• State of Oregon

The DOJ says that when it previously contacted these jurisdictions, it raised concerns "about laws, policies, or practices that may violate 8 U.S.C. 1373, a federal statute that promotes information sharing related to immigration enforcement and with which compliance is a condition of FY2016 and FY2017 Byrne JAG awards."

-Patch editor Feroze Dhanoa contributed to this article; Photo by Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press