ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The U.S. Border Czar Tom Homan will be in Rochester next week, following a controversial traffic stop and on the heels of a lawsuit against the city from the Trump administration.
The lawsuit, filed on April 24, aims at ending Rochester’s sanctuary city policy. The lawsuit claims the city’s policies deliberately impede immigration officers from carrying out their duties. News10NBC asked Mayor Malik Evans about it at an event on Friday.
“The rule of law cannot be something that you think is ok when only it suits your purpose,” Evans said.
The Justice Department argues that Rochester’s sanctuary city policy violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits the city from obstructing the federal government’s ability to enforce laws.
The city’s sanctuary policy came under scrutiny last month following an immigration traffic stop by U.S. Border Patrol agents. Police body camera footage showed Rochester Police Department officers assisting federal agents, which Evans and the police chief said violated the city’s sanctuary policy.
“We have not been served with that lawsuit yet, but let me be extremely clear. The City of Rochester’s policies have been around since I was six years old, going back to 1986,” Evans said. “Any lawsuit that we get, you better believe that we will vigorously defend them in court, as we do with all lawsuits. But I will tell you this seems like another distraction.”
As a result of this, U.S. Border Czar Tom Homan vowed to visit Rochester to show his support for the RPD officers. Homan also criticized sanctuary policies, saying they can result in a number of things.
“They make the community unsafe when you release a public safety threat back into the public without giving him to ICE to take him out of the community,” said Homan. “You put the community at greater risk. You put law enforcement at greater risk. You put the alien at greater risk.”
Homan is expected to be in Rochester on Tuesday at 11 a.m., but exact details of his itinerary are not available.
No court date for the lawsuit has been scheduled yet.
This legal battle follows a decision by a federal judge in California barring President Trump from denying federal funding to sanctuary cities. The judge called portions of the president’s order unconstitutional.
Read the full lawsuit here:
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