Sessions Praises Miami, Slams Chicago In Sanctuary Debate

MIAMI, FL — U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions slammed Chicago while lauding Miami in the ongoing immigration debate over so-called sanctuary city status. Sessions praised Miami-Dade County officials for rejecting attempts to designate the county as a "sanctuary jurisdiction," "sanctuary city" or "sanctuary county." But the nation's top cop had harsh words for Chicago, which filed suit against his Justice Department in recent days for plans to withhold federal funds from jurisdictions that fail to toe the line.

President Trump later tweeted video of Sessions' remarks in Miami along with his thanks to Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez for "following the rule of law."

Sessions told an audience that included Gimenez that Miami-Dade County is a "example" for other cities to follow in the United States. "For the sake of their city, Chicago's leaders need to recommit to policies that punish criminals instead of protecting them. They need to protect their citizens and not the criminals." (Sign up for our free Daily Newsletters and Breaking News Alerts for the Miami Patch.)

The attorney general contrasted Chicago's much higher murder rate with that of Miami-Dade County as reason enough to comply with federal efforts to curb undocumented immigration. He pointed to Independence Day weekend as an example of the difference in crime between the two cities.

"The same Independence Day weekend when Chicago suffered more than 100 shootings and 15 homicides, Miami-Dade also had a historic number of shooting deaths – zero," Sessions told the audience.

The attorney general's visit drew heightened security as police appeared to screen each car entering the passenger terminal area where Sessions spoke. Protesters were not evident inside or outside the venue, but some protesters could be seen in downtown Miami. (Sign up for our free Daily Newsletters and Breaking News Alerts for the Miami Patch.)

The American Civil Liberties Union issued a statement in connection with the visit condemning the administration's crackdown on sanctuary jurisdictions.

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“Sanctuary city policies improve public safety, protect immigrants and promote trust between communities and police," said the ACLU's Lorella Praeli, director of immigration policy and campaigns. "Instead of protecting Floridians, Mayor Carlos Gimenez turned his back on the community and Miami-Dade County became an extension of Trump’s mass deportation force."

Sanctuary cities and counties are called that because they offer sanctuary to illegal immigrants, refusing to turn them over to federal officials for deportation. Most sanctuary cities and counties have also passed laws preventing employees from even turning over information to immigration officials.

Watch: Chicago Is Suing Jeff Sessions Over His Sanctuary City Crackdown

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Sessions appeared with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director Tom Homan to highlight the increased cooperation and information sharing by Miami-Dade County and other jurisdictions that have "demonstrated a fundamental commitment to the rule of law and lowering violent crime," according to the Justice Department.

Sessions did not take questions.

He commented briefly on the investigation into last weekend's deadly attack in Charlottesville. Virginia that left one woman dead and 19 injured.

"We've had a tough weekend," he acknowledged. "We do not, and in no way can we accept, apologize for racism, bigotry, hatred, violence and those kind of things that too often arise in our country."

Sessions said that the FBI was interviewing people in Ohio as early as Saturday evening in the hours following the attack. "They're moving aggressively in a collaborative way, using the interstate capabilities that the federal agents have as well as the on-the-ground capabilities of our state and local law officers."

Led by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the city of Chicago filed a lawsuit against the Justice Department earlier this month for creating new grant requirements that would withhold federal money for crime prevention based on the municipality's sanctuary city status for undocumented immigrants.

Sessions criticized elected officials who "feign outrage" when their police departments lose federal funding over policies they've implemented.

"Sanctuary jurisdictions provide safe harbor for some of the most dangerous criminals in our country," Sessions insisted.

He said there is no evidence to support claims that undocumented immigrants are less likely to report crime when they fear deportation. He said that only one in four Chicago murders ever results in a suspect being identified.

"In Chicago – a city of almost exactly the same 2.7 million person population of Miami-Dade – more than 433 people have been murdered just from the beginning of this year. They expect to hit over 700 by the time the year is out." he said. That's more than three times as many as in Miami-Dade."

The decision to file the lawsuit in Chicago came after the Justice Department released new guidelines for its Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program, which the city has used over the years to pay for SWAT equipment, police vehicles, radios and Tasers, according to the Chicago mayor's office. In 2016, Chicago received $2.3 million in Byrne grant funding.

Gimenez, the Miami-Dade mayor, issued a memo ordering county jails to comply with the new White House policy one day after President Trump targeted so-called sanctuary cities and jurisdictions. County commissioners subsequently backed the mayor by passing a formal resolution shunning any sort of sanctuary designation.

Trump responded by applauding the move on Twitter. "Miami-Dade mayor drops sanctuary policy. Right Decision. Strong!" the president tweeted.

In defending the action, Gimenez and other elected officials have said they feared the county might be unfairly lumped in with cities that openly shield undocumented immigrants from prosecution as Patch reported earlier.

Sessions confirmed at the Miami event that Miami-Dade County is no longer considered a sanctuary jurisdiction. Gimenez did not make any statements on Wednesday when he left the venue.

Patch editor Joe Vince in Chicago contributed to this report.

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions speaks at Port of Miami. Photo by Paul Scicchitano.