Philadelphia Suing AG Sessions Over New Sanctuary City Funding Rules​

PHILADELPHIA – The City of Philadelphia filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions in relation to new "sanctuary city" funding restrictions, according to city officials. The suit asks a federal court to prevent Sessions from adding what it calls unlawful conditions to the federal program that provide crime-related funding to cities, the city said.

The city said the new conditions in the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program in question include providing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with 48 hours notice of a prisoner's scheduled release and providing ICE with "unfettered access" to inmates in the city's prison system.

“As far as we can tell, these unprecedented grant conditions are purely political,” Mayor Kenney said in Wednesday's announcement. “The Trump administration claims that it is imposing these to keep Philadelphians safer, but the facts don’t lie. Philadelphia isn’t breaking federal law. We’re doing smart policing and, as a result, we had the lowest level of crime in 2016 that we’ve had in 40 years. We will not let this Administration interfere with our longstanding efforts to bring members of Philadelphia’s immigrant community from the shadows. ”

Specifically, the City’s lawsuit asks the federal judge:

• to determine that it is unlawful for the Department of Justice to impose the three new conditions on Byrne Memorial JAG funding;
• to prohibit the DOJ from doing so;
• and to determine that, if the imposition of Section 1373 in connection with the grant funding is found to be lawful, that the City has properly certified that it does, in fact, comply with the statute.

The JAG program provided Philadelphia with $1.6 million last year, and has received an average award of $2.2 million over the past 11 years, according to city officials.

"This funding is spent on priorities such as police overtime and equipment enhancements, upgrades to courtroom technology, training for law enforcement, and alternative rehab programs for low-level offenders," the announcement said.

The suit claims Sessions' new rules for JAG are outside the federal statute that created the program and overstep Sessions' authority by changing the program in a way that Congress never intended.

"And even if Congress did intend these conditions, that would violate the U.S. Constitution, and the limits it sets on what the federal government can insist that localities do in exchange for funds," the announcement said.

“The Justice Department’s immigration-related conditions have nothing to do with strengthening the City’s criminal justice system, which is what the Byrne JAG program is all about," City Solicitor Sozi Pedro Tulante said. "We are therefore asking a court to intervene and to recognize that the Attorney General lacks the authority to impose any of these conditions. Fundamentally, the Attorney General cannot use this vital law-enforcement funding as a way to coerce Philadelphia into implementing federal immigration policy and, in turn, heighten fear and anxiety among our immigrant residents.”

The City is represented in the lawsuit by the Law Department and the law firms Hogan Lovells and Dechert.

Image via ICE