Will Trump 'War of Shame' list work against Sanctuary cities and police agencies

By Kevin Fobbs

The Department of Homeland Security has followed through on then presidential candidate Donald Trump campaign promise to name and shame local cities and law enforcement that oppose enforcement of federal immigration law. According to the Washington Post DHS released a list of names of jails where local law enforcement categorically refused to cooperate with ICE to detain illegal immigrants for potential deportation.

Think about this for a moment. There are at least 206 incidences where an illegal immigrant had been arrested, which also means each one of these immigrants had been an open and dangerous threat to a city, a neighborhood and an individual or family.

In every incident, it also means that the local law enforcement agency or mayor or city council felt that the lives of its residents were expendable, even if a young girl as in the case of the young teen allegedly raped by an illegal immigrant, let go under the Obama former "Catch and Release" program.

President Trump believes that the time has come to not only Make America Safe Again, but the nation has to stop the out of control illegal immigration protections of Sanctuary cities, counties and other jurisdictions. What is unbelievable is that nearly one third of the sanctuary city holdouts to ICE cooperation exist in the Lone Star state's epicenter of liberalism, Travis County. According to the Associated Press.

In a state where Texans ride tall in the saddle when it comes to law and order and standing up for conservatism and religious Christian values, there is one major blemish to the red state and that would-be Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez, a Democrat. She campaigned on a platform of open defiance to complying with DHS and ICE and would not comply with immigration detainer requests for illegal immigrants arrested in her county, reported the Associated Press.

The sheriff's open defiance to the Trump administration and any possible public shaming campaign initiated by it will still have dire state consequences. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott went after the defiant democrat law enforcement chief by blocking $1.5 million in state grant funding. In his statement to slash her funding he stressed that her action was, "deeply disturbing" and suggesting Hernandez's decision was "dangerous and should be criminal in itself."

Nationally the "Shame War" may have taken time to become truly effective. With many of the illegally defiant sanctuary cities and counties in blue states controlled by mayors, city councils or state legislatures and governors federal pressure from DHS may have little or no impact for the moment.

Actually, many of these died-in-the-wool federal immigration law breakers where their defiance as a badge of honor. Yet, the residents of these same states and illegal sanctuary jurisdictions may soon revolt when critical federal program funds are slashed. When crime escalates and a family member, friend or neighbor falls victim citizens, even in blue states have a funny notion about not becoming sacrificial lambs being attacked or murdered at the expense of liberal political posturing by public officials.

In addition, these same sanctuary officials in states, cities and counties that are running budget deficits may not be so comfortable protecting illegal immigrant lawbreakers at the expense of services that keep their families and communities safe. The mainstream media in those local areas may give them cover, but local town halls filled with angry citizens who demand protection from murderers, rapists and violence are no so forgiving.

The bottom line is clear. President Trump should continue his "War of Shame" against those illegal sanctuary officials and turn up the heat on eliminating funding to their jurisdictions. He is the nation's law and order president and these local law breaking officials should be denied any funding that allows them to remain in open defiance of the law.

© Kevin Fobbs