Former New York City Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik supports the accountability measures relating to defiance of federal immigration law sent to city officials by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. He also believes any city official who ignores the law should go to prison.
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“The president and the attorney general have the right to hold back federal funds and say, ‘Listen, if you’re not going to cooperate…’ Personally, I’m surprised they don’t lock people like this up. The mayor and people like this, you cannot violate federal law,” Kerik said on “Fox & Friends” Sunday. “You take an oath of office to enforce the federal law in the state of New York and the City of New York. You can’t say except for that law. I’m not I’m not going to enforce that.”
Kerik, sentenced in 2010 to four years in prison — serving just three — for felony corruption charges, described the experience after his release as “dying with your eyes open” and wrote a book about the experience two years ago.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner James O’Neill on Friday gave stinging responses to a statement related to sanctuary cities made by Justice Department Attorney General Jeff Sessions who said, “The number of murders in Chicago has skyrocketed, rising more than 50 percent from the 2015 levels. New York City continues to see gang murder after gang murder, the predictable consequence of the city’s ‘soft on crime’ stance.”
“It’s an unacceptable statement that denigrates the people of New York City and the men and women of the NYPD. It is an outrageous statement and it’s absurd on its face. It ignores a quarter century of progress in this city bringing down crime,” de Blasio told reporters Friday night at Police Plaza.
Ed Mullins, president of the NYPD’s Sergeants Benevolent Association, agrees with Kerik and slammed Mayor de Blasio and NYPD leadership for defying immigration law, saying that Sessions was “right” to hold the city accountable for not following the law. (RELATED: NYC Police Union Chief Slams De Blasio And NYPD Leadership: AG Sessions Is Right)
Additionally, The Daily Caller received statements from retired and active NYPD officers voicing their support for AG Sessions while blasting de Blasio’s “soft on crime” city policies. (RELATED: NYPD Cops Spout Off Against De Blasio And O’Neill Over Remarks Made By AG Sessions)
“Nobody called cops soft on crime. They called the City and NYPD leadership soft on crime because of their narrow minded and ill-advised declaration that NYC is now a sanctuary for those who willingly refuse to obey the law,” a retired officer said.