Nearly 5,000 people attended a rally in support of Somerville’s sanctuary city status in February, and the mayor has reaffirmed the city’s commitment to the policy in spite of recent threats of federal funding cuts.

By Jim Clark

On Monday of this week, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions threatened cities that fail to assist federal immigration authorities with cutting off U.S. Justice Department grants, prompting civic leaders across the country that have established “sanctuary” status in their cities to stand in defiance of the proposed cuts.

The Attorney General’s comments were aimed at cities such as Chicago, New York, Los Angeles – as well as Somerville – that have pledged resistance to deportation efforts for undocumented immigrants who reside in those cities.

Sanctuary cities typically forbid their police agencies from verifying immigration status while engaged in making arrests or performing traffic stops. Additionally, law enforcement agencies in these cities will not hold undocumented individuals any longer than is warranted by the law at the request of federal agents who intend to deport them.

Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone was quick to decry the Attorney General’s remarks, saying in public statements made on Tuesday, “Essentially the AG is threatening to break things unless he gets his way. It’s government-by-toddler. I suggest a good nap and dry diaper, and then move onto something more productive.”

The mayor pointed out that hundreds of millions of people live and work in the targeted cities. “Trillions of dollars of business is done in those cities,” Curtatone said. “Most of the larger cities in the country are on that list.”

Administration officials have said that the deportation effort is in response to illegal immigrants who are convicted of serious crimes. It has been claimed that public safety is at stake and that refusal to notify U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement of undocumented residents’ release from jail constitutes a threat to society.

Mayor Curtatone has expressed his defiance and disapproval of U.S. Attorney General Sessions’ plan to cut funding to sanctuary cities.

According to Sessions, “Failure to deport aliens who are convicted of criminal offenses puts whole communities at risk, especially immigrant communities in the very sanctuary jurisdictions that seek to protect the perpetrators.”

Mayor Curtatone, however, takes a contradictory stand on the matter: “The grants Sessions is threatening to withhold ‘typically are used to help police improve crime-fighting techniques, buy new equipment and assist victims of crime.’ So, are the feds really going to cut off funds to much of the nation for local policing? Crime statistics aren’t partisan and neither side of the aisle wants to see them rise. Sessions is threatening one of the things on which we have agreement. The DOJ should be wary of playing with public safety to force a political argument that’s been lost in hundreds of city councils and in the courts.”

“This gets to the core of the distraction attempt by the political right on sanctuary cities and immigration,” Curtatone asserts. “The headline here is a cliffhanger – What laws are we breaking? SPOILER ALERT: None. Sanctuary cities are fully in compliance with the law, with decades of case law and the 4th Amendment to back them up. Remember that when you see self-serving politicians or fake experts on the Internet make claims to the contrary.”

“ICE is a federal agency, just like the IRS and EPA,” according to the mayor. “We don’t do their jobs for them and they don’t do our jobs for us. This isn’t complicated. The problem is we’ve got federal-level politicians unwilling to fix a broken system and they’re looking to shift the blame away from themselves. Seems like they’d rather have the issue than put together a solution. They’ve built their politics around sowing discord. We’ve built ours around treating everyone in our community with dignity. Our way is better, and 100% legal.”

According to estimates, the U.S. Justice Department grants cuts could amount to as much as $300,000 or more per year. Still, Mayor Curtatone maintains that the human rights issues at hand far outweigh any possible monetary penalties that may be incurred.

In addition, Curtatone dismisses claims that sanctuary cities are in violation of the law. “Bristol County, MA, Sheriff Tom Hodgson is now calling for the federal government to arrest all mayors of sanctuary cities, despite the fact that we’re not breaking any laws,” Said the mayor. “I’ll say the same thing about Sheriff Hodgson’s ridiculous statements as I did about Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal when he said the same thing, come and get me.”

“Sanctuary cities aren’t hiding. We know the law. More importantly, we know we’re not violating the law. So officials like Hodgson should feel free to keep blowing hot air. By all means expose yourself as the sort of jack-booted thug who wants to jail your political opponents for made-up offenses.”