A new day is dawning for
sanctuary jurisdictions that have taken advantage of grant money from the federal government but declined to cooperate as they should with federal immigration law enforcement.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a
new rule July 25 for jurisdictions applying for Byrne grants to assist state and local law enforcement. Byrne grants, formally called Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Programs (“Byrne JAG”), are the largest source of federal criminal justice funds for state, local, and tribal authorities.
There are quite a few jurisdictions in Oregon that used money from these grants in 2016, so now they need to take another look at their uncooperative policies with federal authorities in regard to immigration.
Taxpayers could be hit with bigger bills than ever if the affected jurisdictions fail to meet Department of Justice requirements for the grants and do not receive any. And citizens in these locations can expect increases in numbers of illegal aliens in their communities, if a jurisdiction chooses to “go it alone” and continues its sanctuary policies.
Thanks to the Center for Immigration Studies for their detailed
examination of which jurisdictions could lose how much money each year by losing the Byrne grants.
In Oregon, jurisdictions that received significant amounts from the Byrne program in 2016 and now must show proper cooperation with DOJ or lose the grants, are:
City of Portland $465,810
Lane County $84,217
City of Salem $69,968
County of Washington $39,976
Deschutes. County of $33,730
Clackamas County Juvenile Department $25,771
City of Grants Pass $17,547
City of Beaverton $17,239
City of Redmond $11,874
