Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel said Monday that the dismantling of sanctuary cities will harm public safety and diminish American values.
Chicago is in the process of suing the Trump administration for threatening to withhold funding from cities who do not comply with orders to comply with federal immigration policies.
According to Emanuel, stopping Chicago’s sanctuary policies would actually be a threat to public safety. Sanctuary city policies allow police to release illegal immigrants who have been accused of a crime even if ICE has issued a detainer against the immigrant.
“Our police department is built on the principles of community policing,” Emanuel said during a Monday interview on CNN. “We don’t want officers just patrolling the neighborhood but to be part of that neighborhood.”
“By forcing the police department to choose between the values of the city and the philosophy of the police department…I think it’s a false choice and it actually undermines our public safety agenda,” he continued, explaining that his police department operates based on “trust.”
Murders in Chicago have already surpassed 400 in 2017, higher than in the same time period last year. 2016 was the deadliest year in Chicago in 20 years.
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