Exclusive PROSECUTING ORGANIZED CRIME

[MARIS61]

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/201...consider-charging-sanctuary-city-leaders.html

DHS asked prosecutors to consider charging sanctuary city leaders
By Samuel Chamberlain | Fox News

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

The Department of Homeland Security has asked federal prosecutors to examine the possibility of bringing criminal charges against leaders of so-called sanctuary cities, Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen told lawmakers Tuesday.

"The Department of Justice is reviewing what avenues may be available," Nielsen told the Senate Judiciary Committee. The secretary added that sanctuary policies were "putting my [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] officers at risk."

The Trump administration has vowed to withhold federal money from localities that refuse to give federal immigration authorities access to jails and provide advance notice when someone in the country illegally is about to be released.


Earlier this month, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told Fox News' "Your World with Neil Cavuto" that politicians should be held "personally accountable" for crimes committed by illegal immigrants.

"We've got to start charging some of these politicians with crimes," Tom Homan said in the Jan. 2 appearance.

California recently passed a statewide sanctuary policy that took effect Jan. 1, and cities such as San Francisco, Chicago and Philadelphia have adopted them.

A federal judge has blocked the Justice Department's effort to halt funding to those locations.

Last month, Rep. Todd Rokita, R-Ind., introduced a bill threatening elected officials in sanctuary cities with fines and prison time.

AFTER STEINLE VERDICT, REP UNVEILS BILL TO IMPRISON OFFICIALS WHO SHELTER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

"Politicians don't get to pick and choose what laws to comply with," Rokita told Fox News at the time "Americans are dying because politicians sworn to uphold the law refuse to do so."

Rokita introduced the bill in the wake of the Kate Steinle trial, in which an illegal immigrant who had been deported to Mexico five times was acquitted of murdering Steinle on a San Francisco pier in 2015.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

 

[MARIS61]

After Steinle verdict, rep unveils bill to imprison officials who shelter illegal immigrants

By Barnini Chakraborty | Fox News

Rep. Rokita pens aggressive bill aimed at sanctuary cities
GOP lawmaker unveils bill that would threaten fines and prison time for officials accused of sheltering illegal immigrant criminals from deportation.

EXCLUSIVE – A Republican congressman plans to introduce a bill Monday that would threaten huge fines and prison time for elected officials accused of sheltering illegal immigrant criminals from deportation, in the wake of the not-guilty verdict in the Kate Steinle murder trial.

Indiana Rep. Todd Rokita’s bill is one of the most aggressive pieces of legislation to date aimed at sanctuary city policies, going beyond the Justice Department’s threat to cut off grants to those jurisdictions.

“Politicians don’t get to pick and choose what laws to comply with,” Rokita told Fox News. “Americans are dying because politicians sworn to uphold the law refuse to do so.”

His “Stopping Lawless Actions of Politicians (SLAP) Act” would hold state and local lawmakers criminally responsible for refusing to comply with federal immigration enforcement efforts. The Republican’s bill would subject violators to a $1 million fine and up to five years in prison if they are convicted.

“It’s time the federal government gets serious about enforcing immigration laws and holding politicians accountable who conspire to break them,” said Rokita.

Rokita also supported “Kate’s Law” – legislation that would boost penalties for illegal immigrants who were previously deported and that was named after Steinle.

On Thursday, Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, an illegal immigrant who already had been deported back to Mexico five times, was acquitted in the 2015 murder of Steinle on a San Francisco pier.

Zarate’s attorneys argued Zarate had found a gun that accidentally discharged, and the bullet ricocheted off the ground before hitting Steinle. Prosecutors argued Zarate intentionally shot 32-year-old Steinle.

The killing revived a national debate over sanctuary city policies, as some lawmakers as well as Steinle’s family faulted San Francisco for releasing the suspect from a local jail without notifying federal immigration officials.

President Trump, who frequently cited Steinle’s case on the campaign trail, called the not-guilty verdict “disgraceful” and a “complete travesty of justice.”
Attorney General Jeff Sessions took direct aim at the city, saying San Francisco’s “decision to protect criminal aliens led to the preventable and heartbreaking death of Kate Steinle.”

In an interview prior to Thursday’s verdict, Steinle’s family said they wanted the case out of the national spotlight. “We just want to get this over with and move on with our lives, and think about Kate on our terms,” Jim Steinle, Kate’s father, told the San Francisco Chronicle.

Following the verdict, he said his family was shocked Zarate was convicted only of firearm possession.

On Friday, the DOJ released an amended arrest warrant for Zarate for a supervised release violation.

Rokita’s bill follows a similar attempt in Texas to punish local officials who ignore federal requests to hold and then potentially turn over suspects for possible deportation. That law is the subject of a federal court challenge.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/201...officials-who-shelter-illegal-immigrants.html

 

[MARIS61]

Time to dust off the RICO Act.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Time to dust off the RICO Act.

No need, Mueller has it all polished up.