Common Sense: Changing times

Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis was right on point with her answer to Mayor de Blasio’s response to President Trump’s executive order requiring sanctuary cities like New York to make the federal government aware of illegal aliens in their custody for committing crimes.

Mayor de Blasio indicated that, under its self-proclaimed “sanctuary city” policy, New York City only refused to notify the federal government of illegal aliens accused of minor crimes.  The Assemblymember responded by listing of more than 150 criminal violations that the mayor and city considered too minor to notify the federal government for eventual deportation.

Here is a list of some of the crimes:

  • Sexual abuse in the first and second degrees
  • Burglary in the third degree
  • Grand larceny in the first, second and third degrees
  • Welfare fraud in the first, second and third degrees
  • Auto stripping in the first, second and third degrees
  • Criminal possession of stolen property in the first, second and third degrees
  • Criminal diversion of prescription drugs in the first, second and third degrees
  • Commercial bribes in the first, second and third degrees
  • Identity theft in the first, second and third degrees
  • Killing or injuring a police animal
  • Bribing a juror
  • Promoting and permitting prostitution
  • Criminal anarchy
  • Money laundering in the first and second degrees

So this is how it has worked from the time Mayor de Blasio was elected until the issuing of the Trump executive order.  An illegal alien is arrested for one of the above crimes (and there have been many arrests), let us say promoting and/or permitting prostitution at a day spa.

The suspect moves through the state judicial system, is convicted and receives a short sentence, some probation and a fine. Prior to the city’s sanctuary city policy, the city would notify the federal government and upon completion of the sentence, the illegal alien would be turned over to the federal government for deportation.

Under the sanctuary city policy, New York City would not notify the federal government and the illegal alien would not be turned over to the federal government for extradition. The illegal alien would be released back into the community by the city.

My suspicion is that very few New Yorkers, given the fact pattern I described above, would want that individual returned to the community. I suspect that most New Yorkers who are concerned about Trump’s view of illegal immigration are focused on the problem of undocumented aliens in general and what do you do with several million that have made our nation their home.

The issue of illegal aliens committing crimes and the effect a sanctuary city policy has on their deportation is a very different matter.

The president is strongly suggesting, although this is apparently not final, that if a city fails to comply, it could see a loss of some federal funding.  He is also indicating that, if a nation fails to accept the return of an illegal alien who has been convicted of a crime, the U.S. would stop the issuance of visas to citizens of that nation wishing to enter the United States.

This is very real and welcome hardball on an issue that is of great concern to many Americans.  And on this issue as on many others, Trump is thinking and acting like most Americans and not like the government bureaucracy acted, regardless of party control, in past years.

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