Bring It On: King County Leaders Respond To Sessions' Threat Over Sanctuary City Funds

SEATTLE, WA - Threatened on Monday by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, local leaders are pledging to continue sanctuary city-like policies to protect undocumented immigrants, even if it means giving up millions in federal grants.

Sessions appeared during the White House press briefing on Monday to urge leaders of so-called "sanctuary cities" to reverse the policies, otherwise, the U.S. Department of Justice would move forward with plans to deny grants.

"I strongly urge our nation’s states and cities and counties to consider carefully the harm they are doing to our citizens by refusing to enforce our immigration laws, and to rethink these policies," Sessions said Monday.

Although many Puget Sound cities and counties are not expressly labeled "sanctuary cities" - for example, Seattle is a "welcoming city;" Burien has an ordinance to protect the undocumented, but does not call itself a sanctuary city - most local jurisdictions prohibit police and other government employees from inquiring about immigration status. Cities ranging from Renton to Kirkland have issued statements describing such policies.

Additionally, many local jurisdictions don't comply with "detainer" requests because of a 2014 federal court case, Miranda-Olivares v. Clackamas County, which deemed that jurisdictions that hold people in jail for federal agencies without probable cause violate the 4th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Shortly after taking office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that, in part, compelled the Department of Homeland Security to compile a weekly list of the top jurisdictions that refuse detainer requests; on last week's report, Snohomish County was listed near the top. That caused Sheriff Ty Trenary to call the report "offensive."

On Monday, Sessions specifically referred to a section of U.S. code - 8 USC § 1373 - that "prohibits local and state law enforcement from restricting the sharing of immigration status information with federal authorities. He said that the U.S. Department of Justice would begin screening jurisdictions for compliance with 1373 before issuing grants.

King County Executive Dow Constantine said that Sessions was "coercing" local governments. He also said that the Trump administration "will face legal challenges" if the government withholds other federal funds.

"Case law restricts the federal government’s ability to place extraneous conditions on spending and grants for state and local governments," Constantine said. "As I have stated many times, we will honor ICE detainer requests only if accompanied by an appropriate, legal order. That is consistent with the Constitution, and our values. Today’s announcement attempts to undermine both."

Some of the federal grants at stake, according to Constantine, include: $1 million to King County Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention; $400,000 to Office of Performance, Strategy and Budget for recidivism/reentry coordinator; $90,000 to King County Sheriff’s Office for trauma-informed domestic violence training; $1,146,028 to King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office for firearms cases; $250,153 to King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office for domestic violence cases; $454,857 to King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office for cases involving youth; and $175,027 to King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office for victims of crime assistance.

According to a Reuters estimate, Seattle and King County combined could lose more than $72 million in federal grants if the Trump administration carries through on its threats.

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray and City Attorney Pete Holmes released a joint statement. Murray has directed Holmes to send Freedom of Information Act requests to the Trump administration probing the administration's plans for sanctuary cities.

"I’m willing to risk losing every penny of federal funding to stand by our commitment to protect everyone in our community," Murray said. "Attorney General Sessions’ threat to claw back federal funding only strengthens our resolve to fight back. We will keep all our Welcoming Cities policies in place."

Image via Andrew Harnik/Associated Press