State, local leaders fire back at Attorney General Jeff Sessions
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Attorney General Jeff Sessions blasted state and local leaders during a visit to Sacramento today, and they fired back, highlighting the escalating tension between California and the Trump Administration.
The Attorney General came to talk about the Trump Administration's lawsuit against California for its sanctuary state laws, a case which appears headed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
RELATED: Oakland mayor responds to attorney general's 'how dare you' remarks
Sessions spoke before the California Peace Officers Association in Sacramento where he made it clear he's ready to fight.
"California is using every power it has, and some it doesn't, to frustrate federal law enforcement. So you can be sure I'm going to use every power I have to stop them," Sessions said.
Sessions says California's sanctuary laws are threatening public safety and encourage illegal immigration.
RELATED: US attorney general to Oakland mayor: 'How dare you'
He also went on to scold local and state leaders, especially Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, who nearly two weeks ago warned the public about imminent ICE raids.
"So here's my message to Mayor Schaaf, how dare you? How dare you needlessly endanger the lives of our law enforcement officers to promote a radical open-borders agenda," he said.
RELATED: DOJ suing Calif. over sanctuary laws, Gov. Brown calls it a 'political stunt'
"How dare you vilify members of our community by trying to frighten the American public into thinking that all undocumented residents are dangerous criminals," Schaaf responded.
The governor and the lt. governor continued the criticism, blasting the lawsuit and Sessions himself.
"This is completely unprecedented for the chief law enforcement officer of the United States to come out here and engage in a political stunt," Gov. Jerry Brown said.
RELATED: Gov. Jerry Brown fires back at Sessions' federal lawsuit
"We reject this lawsuit. We reject Jeff Sessions. We reject the rhetoric and frankly, the outright lies," Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom said.
This is the first lawsuit filed by the Justice Department against a local or state government over immigration policies.
The DOJ says more could follow.
Click here to read the full DOJ complaint.
Click here for more stories related to immigration.
