The residents of Wackoville have started beating the drum again about "sanctuary cities"
The fact, that the term has no clear definition, doesn't stop the noisy babbling, of course
Roughly speaking, they're claiming hundreds of jurisdictions, across the US, have taken some nullification stance towards federal immigration law: La-La-Land says this imagined situation is just some new liberal version of the Great and Glorious Lost States-Rights Cause of the Confederacy
The actual complaints, so far as one can discern amidst the mechanical outrage, seem to be rather of the following type: some jurisdictions limit the circumstances under which they will investigate whether a detainee is in the country without papers or under which they will continue to hold a detainee
Local law enforcement has some interest in obtaining witness cooperation when investigating crimes; and thus very little would be gained by turning every contact with police into a potential deportation, since that would likely impede investigations. The so-called "sanctuary cities" usually do examine Federal immigration status of suspects in the case of serious criminal charges
Enforcement of immigration law is a Federal responsibility; but Federal immigration courts currently have backlogs approaching four years. Many jurisdictions will not assume responsibility for long-term detention of potential immigration-law offenders without a court order or without some compensation for detention costs. Under our system of law, one cannot simply detain people indefinitely; and local jurisdictions, that do so, risk civil liability. And it is unconscionable to seek to shift the burden of Federal immigration enforcement to local jurisdictions: the proper response would be for Congress to increase funding for Federal enforcement and adjudication
