If Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry keeps up his comments about sanctuary cities, we might as well erect a sign at the AG’s office that says, “Hypocrites Welcome Here!”
On Thursday, Landry testified before the House Judiciary Committee for a pair of bills designed to crack down on “sanctuary cities,” one of which would give his office unprecedented power to block a city’s infrastructure funding if it fit his definition of a sanctuary city.
If you’re not familiar with sanctuary cities, congratulations on avoiding the NOLA.com comments section for so long! “Sanctuary city” is a vague term with no legal definition recognized by courts or the U.S. Congress.
According to immigration firm Apsan Law Offices, the term “sanctuary city” is most commonly used to refer to those cities that do not allow federal immigration authorities to use their funds or resources to enforce federal immigration laws. However, some opponents of sanctuary cities use the term to refer to any city police department that advises its officers not to ask those who they encounter about whether or not they are a citizen of the United States.
For Landry and other immigration activists, sanctuary cities are tantamount to looking the other way while a gang breaks the windows on your car. They claim illegal immigrants pose a large-scale threat to the citizens of the United States.
There is a threat to citizens, but for the most part it doesn’t come from illegal immigrants. Illegal immigrants are focused on sending money back to their families, not raping and abusing children, as Landry alleged in his speech, citing Immigrations and Customs Enforcement data.
The threat to U.S. citizens comes from the dramatic expansion of federal power, slowly but surely curtailing our civil rights. The 4th amendment protects citizens from unreasonable search and seizure by the government.
The bills Landry spoke in favor of would brute-force cities, who want the federal government off their backs, to let Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol essentially take over law enforcement in their cities.
This puts Landry at odds with his own states’ rights message and shows he cares more about party politics than the principle of limited government.
When Landry served in Congress, he voted to reduce the power of the Environmental Protection Agency and to repeal the Affordable Care Act because he believes in the 10th Amendment, which gives states the power to regulate things not specifically delegated to the federal government. He’s also a supporter of the 2nd Amendment, getting a 100 percent rating from Gun Owners of America.
However, when it comes to the 4th Amendment right of Americans to be secure in their “persons, houses, papers and effects,” Jeff Landry would light the Bill of Rights on fire if it helped stoke the flames of anti-immigrant rhetoric.
Let me be clear: there are serious economic consequences from undocumented labor. The government loses millions in revenue every year from people paying illegal immigrants off the books that could go to education or research into cures for diseases.
However, government officials cannot forget to protect the rights of innocent Americans in the rush to look tough on illegal immigration.
Tell Jeff Landry to support the entire Bill of Rights, not just the parts he likes.
Jack Richards is a 21-year-old mass communication senior from New Orleans, Louisiana.