In a surprising move, Republican Representative Anna Paulina Luna of Florida has announced her intention to refer four sanctuary city mayors to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for potential criminal investigation.
Luna accuses the mayors of "aiding and abetting" illegal immigrants, an act she believes is in direct violation of federal law.
The mayors in question, as reported by RedState, are Democrats Eric Adams of New York City, Michelle Wu of Boston, Brandon Johnson of Chicago, and Mike Johnston of Denver. They were testifying before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee when Luna made her unexpected announcement.
Drawing on a federal statute frequently invoked by Border Czar Tom Homan, Luna justified her threat of criminal charges against the sanctuary city officials. "To me, after this line of questioning, its very clear that these policies that you have all implicated are active and alive and well in your cities, are in direct violation with Title 8, U.S.C. 1324 and is a federal offense, Luna stated.
Title 8, U.S.C. 1324 criminalizes the act of knowingly concealing, harboring, or shielding illegal aliens from detection. The decision to prosecute hinges on evidence of intent and knowledge. It remains uncertain whether Attorney General Pam Bondi will pursue charges based on this specific law. However, Luna's referral means the Justice Department will now be examining the issue.
Luna criticized the mayors for their role in what she perceives as a flawed immigration system. You all speak about a broken immigration system, and yet here you guys are aiding and abetting in that entire process, she said. Luna expressed her belief that the mayors are not inherently bad people, but rather misguided by their ideologies.
I do not think you guys are bad people but I think you are ideologically misled," she said, "which is why, unfortunately based on your responses, Im going to be criminally referring you to the Department of Justice for investigation, and as soon as I leave here, these will be going over to Pam Bondi.
Attorney General Bondi has previously expressed her intent to hold sanctuary city mayors accountable for illegal immigration and harboring criminals. In response to Boston Mayor Wu's condolences to an alleged knife-wielding criminal, Bondi stated on social media, "This DOJ will NEVER apologize for taking down dangerous criminals and getting them off our streets. Politicians who want to apologize to criminals should not be in office!"
Denver Mayor Johnston had previously been threatened with prosecution before Bondi's confirmation after he declared his intention to instruct law enforcement to protect illegal immigrants in his city. He compared this move to the Tiananmen Square incident, drawing a response from Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky.
The mayor of Denver, if hes going to resist federal law, which is a long-standing history of the supremacy of federal law, if hes going to resist that, it will go all the way to the Supreme Court, said Paul in an interview with "Face the Nation."
A DOJ memo in January specifically instructed federal prosecutors to identify and investigate any state or local officials who threaten to impede the administration's immigration enforcement efforts. The memo stated, Federal law prohibits state and local actors from resisting, obstructing and otherwise failing to comply with lawful immigration-related commands and requests."
With this background and Luna's criminal referral now officially filed, Bondi has all the necessary elements to initiate an investigation into these sanctuary city mayors. This development underscores the ongoing tension between federal and local authorities over immigration enforcement, a contentious issue that continues to divide the nation.
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