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File Number: 17-045 <br />In response to the executive order, the National League of Cities (NLC) released the following <br />statement: <br />“There appears to be a false assumption that ‘sanctuary cities’ prevent U.S. <br />Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from enforcing immigration laws. <br />This could not be further from the truth. In practice, federal programs intended to <br />partner with cities and towns on immigration enforcement are broken. The reality is <br />that, in cities across the nation, police departments are routinely cooperating with ICE’s <br />immigration enforcement efforts, while at the same time building constructive <br />relationships with their communities to improve public safety. The order signed by <br />President Trump does not clearly define sanctuary jurisdictions, so it is difficult to <br />foresee how and which cities will be impacted by the order. Legislative efforts in 2016 <br />to define and penalize sanctuary cities were defeated in Congress, which could have <br />cost cities up to $137 million or more in COPS hiring grants. We call on President <br />Trump to open a dialogue with city leaders, and work with local governments to enact <br />real, comprehensive immigration reform that respects the principles of local control.” <br />NLC’s long-standing position is that measures requiring cities to use local law enforcement <br />resources to enforce federal immigration laws are unfunded mandates that impose additional <br />responsibilities on local law enforcement, increase financial liability on local governments, and <br />ultimately move the nation further from its foundational principles of federalism. Contrary to <br />the president’s stated public safety goals, the NLC argues that this action is likely to <br />jeopardize the effectiveness of many local law enforcement efforts. Furthermore, many police <br />chiefs, mayors, and city council members across the country have expressed concerns that <br />such policies impede efforts to preserve police-community relations and ensure that residents <br />feel safe reporting crimes and accessing government services. <br />Response from US Conference of Mayors & Major Cities Police Chiefs <br />On January 25, 2017, the US Conference of Mayors and Major Cities Police Chiefs <br />Association issued a joint statement, a copy of which is attached to this report. Highlights from <br />that statement include the following: <br />“Mayors and police chiefs are committed to ensuring that criminals, regardless of their <br />immigration status, are arrested and properly adjudicated by the criminal justice <br />system…Cities that aim to build trusting and supportive relations with immigrant <br />communities should not be punished because this is essential to reducing crime and <br />helping victims…We must be able to continue to protect the safety of all of our <br />residents while ensuring that local law enforcement is focused on community policing”. <br />Related Efforts at the State Level <br />The Trust Act was signed into law in 2013 and went into effect January 1, 2014; one of eight <br />bills signed at the same time in the State’s effort to take action on immigration reform. It <br />requires local law enforcement agencies to release people who have been arrested once their <br />bond is posted or their sentence is up, so long as they have no serious convictions and even if <br />ICE officials have issued a detainer. The replacement Priority Enforcement Program focused <br />on those who pose a danger to society, although Secure Communities has now been <br />Page 6 City of San Leandro Printed on 2/16/2017