Jeff Sessions to make sanctuary jurisdiction announcement in CA Wednesday
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KGO) -- Could we see a potential crackdown on sanctuary cities and local law enforcement from the Trump administration?
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That's the concern from some as U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions heads to California to make a "major" announcement on sanctuary jurisdictions.
Sessions will make the declaration Wednesday at a gathering of California Peace Officers in Sacramento.
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California and its sanctuary policies have been a recent target by the Trump administration.
Just last week, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf was criticized by ICE officials for warning the public of pending immigration raids in the Bay Area. This prompted the Justice Department to launch a review of Mayor Schaaf's actions.
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The details of Sessions' announcement are still unclear but some local law enforcement agencies say it will not change how they operate since they follow state law.
"We're not going to change how we police any of our communities, we don't segregate or differentiate between the communities that we serve," said Alameda County Sheriff Gregory Ahern.
The sheriff says there's conflict with state and federal law when it comes to immigration enforcement. If the feds decide to pull funding from local law enforcement agencies not in compliance, they could lose up to $1 million.
"What we wish is that there was one federal law that dealt with immigration that was a fair basis that the elected officials neglected to work on for about a decade," said Ahern.
Sacramento mayor Darrell Steinberg said in a video posted on Twitter that he anticipates the Justice Department will file lawsuits against sanctuary cities.
"If you're coming to intimidate immigrants and to intimidate our city, I suggest you cancel your flight," Steinberg is heard saying in the video.
Meantime, immigration rights activists say they'll continue to resist Trump's policies.
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"The strong majority of Californian's are committed to defend our values of compassion and equality," said Jon Rodney with the California Immigrant Policy Center in Oakland.
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