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Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, October 12, 2017
Justice Department Provides Last Chance for Cities to Show 1373 Compliance

The Justice Department today responded to seven jurisdictions following a preliminary assessment of the jurisdictions’ compliance with 8 U.S.C. 1373. These jurisdictions were identified in a May 2016 report by the Department of Justice’s Inspector General as having laws that potentially violate 8 U.S.C. 1373.



The following jurisdictions have preliminarily been found to have laws, policies, or practices that may violate 8 U.S.C. 1373:



Cook County, Illinois;
Chicago, Illinois;
New Orleans, Louisiana;
New York, New York; and
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.


The department found no evidence that the following jurisdictions are currently out of compliance with 8 U.S.C. 1373:



Milwaukee County, Wisconsin; and
the State of Connecticut.


The department also previously sent letters to the following jurisdictions notifying them that the department found no evidence that they are currently out of compliance with 8 U.S.C. 1373:



Clark County, Nevada; and
Miami-Dade County, Florida.


Jurisdictions that were found to have possible violations of 8 U.S.C 1373 will have until Oct. 27, 2017 to provide additional evidence that the interpretation and application of their laws, policies, or practices comply with the statute.



“Jurisdictions that adopt so-called ‘sanctuary policies’ also adopt the view that the protection of criminal aliens is more important than the protection of law-abiding citizens and of the rule of law,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “I commend the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office and the State of Connecticut on their commitment to complying with Section 1373, and I urge all jurisdictions found to be out of compliance in this preliminary review to reconsider their policies that undermine the safety of their residents. We urge jurisdictions to not only comply with Section 1373 but to establish sensible and effective partnerships to properly process criminal aliens.”

Source

For those unfamiliar with 8 U.S.C. 1373...

quote:

8 U.S. Code § 1373 - Communication between government agencies and the Immigration and Naturalization Service

(a) In general

Notwithstanding any other provision of Federal, State, or local law, a Federal, State, or local government entity or official may not prohibit, or in any way restrict, any government entity or official from sending to, or receiving from, the Immigration and Naturalization Service information regarding the citizenship or immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any individual.

(b) Additional authority of government entities

Notwithstanding any other provision of Federal, State, or local law, no person or agency may prohibit, or in any way restrict, a Federal, State, or local government entity from doing any of the following with respect to information regarding the immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any individual:
(1) Sending such information to, or requesting or receiving such information from, the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
(2) Maintaining such information.
(3) Exchanging such information with any other Federal, State, or local government entity.

(c) Obligation to respond to inquiries

The Immigration and Naturalization Service shall respond to an inquiry by a Federal, State, or local government agency, seeking to verify or ascertain the citizenship or immigration status of any individual within the jurisdiction of the agency for any purpose authorized by law, by providing the requested verification or status information.
(Pub. L. 104–208, div. C, title VI, § 642, Sept. 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 3009–707.)

Bottom line is no state or local law can prevent a Federal, State, or local government entity or official from inquiring about citizenship or immigration status of any individual.

So these so called "sanctuary state" or "sanctuary city" laws are not a legal barrier to the ability of a government official from asking if some detainee is an illegal immigrant.