Last week, Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller responded to a asking him if the city will commit to complying with federal law and identify how they鈥檙e impeding federal immigration enforcement.
The letter went out to 35 jurisdictions the Justice Department classified as . That included Albuquerque, a long time immigrant-friendly city. Mayor Keller responded in a to Bondi saying 鈥淣one of the City鈥檚 laws, policies or practices impede federal immigration enforcement,鈥�
鈥淲e don鈥檛 ask information of anyone in terms of their documentation,鈥� Keller said when asked to define what it means for Albuquerque to be a sanctuary city. 鈥淪o police don鈥檛 ask for that information, but neither do librarians.鈥�.
Keller said that means the city doesn鈥檛 have data on the legal status of all of its residents. If the information doesn鈥檛 exist, he added, the city cannot hand anything over regarding the status of immigration enforcement, which is what federal agents are seeking.
Under the city鈥檚 2018 , Albuquerque residents are not legally required to disclose their legal status, nor are their employers.
Keller said this isn鈥檛 a matter of criminal prosecution, but of racial discrimination.
鈥淯nless they鈥檙e actually doing a criminal act like robbing someone, in which case we would arrest them for robbery, not for being undocumented,鈥� he said, 鈥淣o country should be a country that is just rounding up people because they have dark skin, and unfortunately that is true right now.鈥�
President Trump threatened to pull federal funds from jurisdictions that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. .
Albuquerque is not the only place to defy the letter it received. The governors of , and also refused to change their laws in the face of threats.
